Hotels

Smoke-Free Hotels FAQs

• What is secondhand smoke?
• I know smoking is dangerous, but how can simply being near a smoker be dangerous?
• Hotels are like homes away from home. If a guest prefers to smoke in their hotel rooms, how can this be harmful to anyone else?
• There are ventilation systems designed to remove the smoke from the air. Why can't hotels use those?
• Couldn't banning smoking hurt a hotel's bottom line?

What is secondhand smoke?

Secondhand smoke is a combination of the smoke coming off the tip of the cigarette or cigar and the smoke that is exhaled by the smoker. Because some of this smoke is released into the air prior to being burned and filtered, many of the toxins found in secondhand smoke are found in higher rates than the toxins the smoker inhales.

I know smoking is dangerous, but how can simply being near a smoker be dangerous?

Secondhand smoke kills more than 50,000 non-smokers in the United States every year. Studies have shown that secondhand smoke is a cause of:

• Lung cancer
• Other cancers - laryngeal, esophageal, bladder, mouth cancer, etc.
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Lung disease - such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema

Hotels are like homes away from home. If a guest prefers to smoke in their hotel room, how can this be harmful to anyone else?

Guests smoking in hotel rooms pose a risk to employees and to guests in non-smoking rooms. Air travels throughout buildings through ventilation systems, under doors, and through small cracks in the walls and floors. Non-smoking employees and guests are exposed to this secondhand smoke when it travels from one room to another.

Employees are also exposed when cleaning hotel rooms. It takes 3 hours for smoke to clear from a well ventilated room, and even then, toxic residue from the smoke remains on the surfaces being cleaned by the staff (tables, floors, bed linens and counters). Employees are also exposed while working in the hotel's restaurants and bars when smoking is allowed there.
 
Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke (at home or AT WORK) are at increased risk for having a baby that is born prematurely, at low birth-weight, and with deformities and disabilities. Additionally, these babies are at a greater risk of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), or suffering from other problems like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
 
Children exposed to secondhand smoke while in hotels rooms are especially vulnerable, and can suffer from respiratory infections, ear infections and SIDS. Children with asthma can have attacks brought on by exposure to secondhand smoke, or their attacks can be made worse.

All employees deserve protection from hazardous working conditions.

There are ventilation systems designed to remove the smoke from the air. Why can't hotels use those?

The official position of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) states that adverse health effects for the occupants of smoking areas cannot be controlled by ventilation. Additionally, ASHRAE's president, Terry Townsend has said, "ASHRAE's position is that the only way to effectively eliminate health risk associated with indoor exposure is to ban smoking activity."
 
This is the same conclusion reached by the 2006 US Surgeon General's Report on Secondhand Smoke, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. This report found that:

• There is NO risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure, with even brief exposure adversely affecting the cardiovascular and respiratory system.
• Only smoke-free environments effectively protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure in indoor spaces. The simple separation of smokers and nonsmokers within the same air space may reduce, but does not eliminate, secondhand smoke exposure among nonsmokers… even sophisticated ventilation approaches cannot completely remove secondhand smoke from an indoor space. Because there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure, anything less cannot ensure that nonsmokers are fully protected from the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Couldn't banning smoking harm a hotel's bottom line?

While smoking rates vary in different parts of the country, the majority if the public is non-smoking (around 80 percent). As many hotels are discovering, most guests, (including many smoking guests) prefer staying in non-smoking rooms. Westin Hotels and Resorts, for example, has said that they found that 92 percent of their guests prefer a smoke-free environment.

Smoking bans benefit business in many ways. The first and most important impact smoking bans have are that harmful contaminants are eliminated from business, and employees report feeling healthier. They are sick less often and cost less to insure.
 
There are other substantial costs savings for businesses that go smoke-free. Cleaning and maintenance costs decrease (cleaning furniture, drapes, removing smoke odor and repainting). There is no need for costly ventilation equipment. Smoke free businesses can often save money on fire insurance.
 
To find out more about smoke-free hotels, view KIISS' video, Going Smoke Free! Hotels: Healthy Environment, Healthy Business.