Restaurant Press Releases

Good News About Smoke-Free Restaurants

CONTACT:
Paul McIntyre or
Jean Carter
(916) 780-0226

Considered the most hazardous indoor air pollution since asbestos, secondhand tobacco smoke contains 60 carcinogens. That's why Kids Involuntarily Inhaling Secondhand Smoke (KIISS) is working hard to protect restaurant and bar workers as well as their customers from this threat, which is the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

The health risks presented by inhaling secondhand tobacco smoke have spurred cities and states across the nation to pass smoke-free workplace legislation at an unprecedented pace. In the last two years alone, the number of smoke-free public places has more than doubled. Now, more than one-third of restaurants across the nation are smoke-free by law.

In fact, seven states - California, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island and Delaware - are completely smoke-free in all indoor workplaces including restaurants and bars. Even Lexington, Kentucky, right in the heart of tobacco country, has gone smoke-free in all of its restaurants and bars.

Some entire countries are going smoke-free, including Ireland, which has been smoke-free in all restaurants and bars since March of 2004. Despite these gains, secondhand tobacco smoke is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year in America. This campaign is not to keep people from smoking but to prohibit smoking in indoor environments where nonsmokers face health risks from others' secondhand tobacco smoke.

To advance that effort, KIISS provides pamphlets and videos on the benefits of going smoke-free as well as a "Smoke-Free Restaurant & Bar Implementation Handbook".

For more information, visit KIISS at www.kiiss.org