Cleaning up the smoke-free workplace law:
With the passage of the Non-smokers Protection Act in 2007, CHART scored a huge victory in the fight to protect workers from the harmful effects of tobacco. However, the law provides exemptions for some establishments, and doesn’t go far enough to protect workers from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. Exemptions currently include non-enclosed areas of public places, including open-air patios, porches or decks, those that are enclosed by garage-type doors, and venues that restrict access to persons who are 21 years of age or older. The law also lacks restrictions on the distance smokers should remain from the doors of public establishments.
CHART’s goal is to remove these exemptions and make all workplaces smoke-free.
- Our goal is to clean up the Non-smokers Protection Act by making the law less ambiguous and easier to enforce.
- Everyone deserves a safe working environment.
- Employees in establishments operating under exemptions are at risk of secondhand smoke.
- Secondhand smoke is a killer. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.