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People at Risk
The People at Risk are those who work in bars and casinos that can still allow smoking due to current local and state laws – bartenders, waiters, casino dealers, maintenance workers, entertainers, DJs and musicians. Let’s be totally clear: all Louisiana workers deserve protection from secondhand smoke. Daily, chronic exposure to secondhand smoke isn’t just a nuisance – it makes people sick and can even be deadly.
Did you Know?
Levels of secondhand smoke in bars are four to six times higher than levels measured at office worksites and up to 4.5 times higher than levels in homes with at least one smoker.
Shopland, D.R., Anderson, C.M., Burns, D.M., and Gerlach, K.K. (2004). Disparities in smoke-free workplaces among food service workers. JOEM 46(4): 347-356.
People who are exposed to smoke in the workplace are 17% more likely to develop lung cancer than those who are not exposed.
Boffetta P, Agudo A, Ahrens W et al. Multicenter Case-Control Study of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Lung Cancer in Europe. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1998; 90: 1440-1445.
A 2005 study found that since New York’s state smoke-free workplace law went into effect in July 2003, bar and restaurant workers are suffering fewer sore throats, runny noses and irritated eyes. Also, continine levels in study participants declined by 78 percent within the first year after the law went into effect.
Farrelly MC, Nonemaker JM, Chou R, Hyland A, Peterson KK, Bauer UE. Changes in Hospitality Workers’ Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Following the Implementation of New York’s Smoke-free Law. Tob Control. 2005 Aug; 14(4): 236-41.