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Issues - Clean Indoor Air

•  Workplace smoking bans, including smoke-free bars and restaurants, are proven to reduce the incidence and mortality of tobacco-related illness.

•  Secondhand smoke causes significant health problems in thousands of non-smoking children and adults each year. The scientific evidence on the health risks associated with exposure to secondhand smoke is overwhelming.

• The American Lung Association estimates that annually secondhand smoke causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmokers while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that secondhand smoke claims the lives of 35,000 nonsmokers annually to coronary heart disease.

• Smoke-free ordinances have gained momentum across the country, including in the South. Communities in Texas , Mississippi , Arkansas and Alabama have passed smoke-free ordinances. As of October 2004, more than 1,903 municipalities nationwide have adopted some sort of local clean indoor air law.

•  According to the Society of Actuaries, the direct cost of secondhand smoke exposure in the United States is $4.98 billion a year, including expenses related to the treatment of heart disease, chronic pulmonary disease, lung cancer, asthma and other sicknesses. The nation also incurs $4.68 billion in indirect costs a year, stemming from lost wages, reduced services and costs associated with disabilities.

• Like asbestos, secondhand smoke is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a Class A carcinogen that is known to cause cancer in humans. There is no safe level of exposure to a Class A carcinogen.
• The concentration of carcinogens was found to be higher in secondhand smoke than in the fumes inhaled directly by smokers by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in 2002. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, more than 40 of which have been proven to cause cancer.
• The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that just 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke changes blood chemistry and increases the risk of heart disease in non-smokers.
• Numerous studies have shown that businesses do not lose sales as a result of becoming smoke-free and in many cases, profits increase.

To date, 31 communities representing more than 53 percent of the state's population base have asked the Tennessee General Assembly to return local control of tobacco to their communities. Resolutions urging the Tennessee General Assembly to restore local control have been passed by governing bodies: