DENVER–
The state House of Representatives today introduced the bipartisan
Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act of 2006, aimed at preserving and
improving the health of Coloradans by limiting exposure to tobacco
smoke. The bill is being sponsored by Representatives Mike May
(R-Parker) and Jack Pommer (D-Longmont), and jointly sponsored in the
Senate by Dan Grossman (D-Denver) and John Evans (R – Douglas County).
As written, the bill would require most indoor workplaces and public
places, including restaurants, bars and casinos, to be entirely smoke
free, establishing a uniform standard for businesses statewide. Similar
legislation co-sponsored by Senator Grossman last year fell just two
votes shy of passage in the Senate on the last day of the 2005 session.
“We
are optimistic that timing is right for passage of this legislation,”
said Representative Mike May. “Not only is there broad public support
that cuts across party lines and geographic boundaries, but the
business community and numerous health advocacy organizations have come
out in strong favor of a statewide smoke-free law. We believe this
legislation is in the best interests of Coloradans and will go a long
way in protecting and improving the public health of our citizens and
employees.”
Pete
Meersman, President and CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association
spoke on behalf of his organization’s support for the bill, which would
provide a consistent law for businesses throughout the state. The
absence of a statewide law has led a number of Colorado cities and
counties to adopt strong public indoor smoking bans, resulting in a
patchwork of laws across the state.
Health
advocacy organizations, including the American Lung Association of
Colorado, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society,
the Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention Alliance, the Colorado
Medical Society, CoPIRG, National Jewish Medical and Research Center,
and the Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution, are strongly backing the
legislation, which will protect workers and the public from secondhand
smoke. The groups say there is no doubt that indoor smoke-free
environments have the potential to rapidly improve a community’s
overall health, pointing to findings from a recent study in Pueblo,
Colorado, that showed a sharp decline in heart attack rates in the year
and a half immediately following the city’s enactment of a smoke-free
ordinance.
“We
applaud Representatives May and Pommer and Senators Grossman and Evans
for standing up for the health of all Coloradans,” said Erin Bertoli,
Senior Director of Government Affairs for the American Heart
Association. “Secondhand smoke is a leading cause of preventable death
and disease in Colorado. The time has come for a smoke-free Colorado.”
If
the legislation passes this session, Colorado will be the 11th
smoke-free state in the nation. New Jersey became the 10th smoke-free
state this week when Governor Richard Codey signed the state’s
smoke-free bill into law on January 15, 2006. The other smoke-free
states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts,
Montana, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
“Colorado
prides itself on being one of the healthiest states in the country,”
said R.J. Ours, Director of Government Relations for the American
Cancer Society. “It is long overdue that we join the group of states
that protect the health of their employees and the public from
secondhand smoke. We all have the right to breathe clean, smoke-free
air.”
According
to the United States Surgeon General, approximately 53,000 people die
from exposure to secondhand smoke every year in the United States. A
bartender working in a smoke-filled bar inhales the equivalent of one
to two packs of cigarettes in one eight-hour shift.
