WASHINGTON, D.C. April 22, 2015 For the first time, all workers in the city of New Orleans can go to work today knowing they are protected from the cancer-causing toxins found in secondhand smoke. The city 's smoke-free ordinance takes effect today, covering workplaces, including bars and casinos, and public spaces, and representing a significant victory in the fight against cancer.
A recent poll shows two-thirds of New Orleans residents strongly support the ordinance to extend protection from secondhand smoke to all workers. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, which has claimed the lives of approximately 2,500,000 nonsmokers in the last 50 years. Public health advocates nationwide are calling on elected officials in other municipalities and states with casinos and gaming facilities to follow New Orleans' lead and protect everyone's right to breathe smoke-free air. No one should have to choose between their health and a paycheck, regardless of where they work.
Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death nationwide, killing approximately 480,000 people in the United States each year. By passing comprehensive, smoke-free laws like the ordinance implemented in New Orleans today, we will reduce tobacco-related diseases like cancer and save lives.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Emily Rohloff or Steve Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 585-3296 or (202) 661-5711
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
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