By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-12-10 11:38:48 | Word Count: 523
The state of Michigan is not one of the 37 states in the United States that ban indoor smoking. Michigan lawmakers have not acted to protect consumers and employees from the dangers of secondhand smoke by making all workplaces smoke-free. According to a recent poll by the Campaign for Smoke-Free Air, 66 percent of Michigan voters support eliminating smoking from all workplaces The U.S. surgeon general's report has shown that the only way to protect consumers and employees from exposure to secondhand smoke is through comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws. There are no safe levels of exposure. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, air-cleaning technologies and ventilating buildings do not effectively eliminate secondhand smoke.
Secondhand smoke is the second leading preventable cause of death, second only to smoking. Approximately 60 percent of people in United States have biological evidence of secondhand smoke exposure. Regular exposure to secondhand smoke increases the death rate by 30 percent among nonsmokers.
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Smoking is the cause of 30 percent of all cancers. There are more than 4,000 chemicals including over 60 cancer-causing substances in tobacco smoke. Secondhand smoke is responsible for between 1,600 and 2,800 deaths due to cancer per year in healthy nonsmokers in Michigan.
Secondhand smoke is also responsible for about 40,000 deaths from heart disease. According to the recent landmark report by the Institute of Medicine which is part of the National Academy of Science, smoke-free laws reduce the number of heart attacks and save lives. There was conclusive evidence that secondhand smoke causes heart disease and heart attacks, even after relatively brief exposure.
Smoking and secondhand smoke also increase the rate of chronic bronchitis, asthma, premature births, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. Michigan has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the United States, the leading cause of which is premature births and low birth weight.
Secondhand smoke also has significant impact on the economy of our state. The annual federal and state tax burden has been estimated to be about $600 billion. Estimated annual health-care cost to Michigan's Medicaid program directly caused by smoking is $1 billion. For businesses, smoking increases spending by $150 billion in the form of increased health and life insurance premiums, increased worker absenteeism and lower worker productivity. Public Sector Consultants for the Campaign for Smoke-Free Air, based on 43 antismoking economic impact studies, concluded that antismoking legislation does not have a negative economic impact. Some of the smoke-free states have reported increased revenue and jobs.
Residents of Michigan deserve to breathe fresh air and all employees deserve to work in a healthy, smoke-free environment. Medically and economically, smoke-free laws make sense.
Please call your state representative and senators and urge them to make Michigan the 38th state to go smoke-free.
