Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
One of the most notable pieces of early smoking-restrictive legislation
was Minnesota's Clean Indoor Air Act of 1975. It prohibited smoking in
public places and meetings except in designated smoking areas. It covered
restaurants, private worksites, and a large number of public places. The
Minnesota law served as a model for smoking restriction legislation and
ordinances throughout the U.S.
At this writing, smoking restrictions in public places due to state and
local regulatory actions and actions by building owners are nearly universal
in the U.S. The extent of smoking prohibition varies from completely smoke-
free buildings and modes of public transport to smoking in very limited
designated areas. The major area where smoking restrictions are resisted is
in the food and beverage trade, where there is an apparent link between
smoking and food and beverage consumption. Not surprisingly, fewer
restrictions on smoking in public buildings have been enacted in tobacco-
growing states such as Kentucky and North Carolina.
Enforcement of smoking-restriction laws and ordinances is the respon-
sibility (in most cases) of state and local health departments. Many laws and
ordinances include penalties that may be imposed on those who violate
smoking restrictions and on building owners/managers who fail to desig-
nate smoking/nonsmoking areas. Such penalty-backed enforcement has not
been necessary, as most smokers and building owners have willingly com-
plied. Compliance has resulted from a combination of individual smokers'
sense of duty to obey the law, peer disapproval, and an assured right to
smoke in designated smoking areas.
Smoking restriction legislation/ordinances were opposed by the tobacco
industry, the food and beverage industry, and libertarian smokers who
believed they had the right to smoke anywhere. The tobacco industry lobbied
against legislation/ordinances restricting smoking in public places because
it anticipated that such legislation would reduce tobacco consumption.
Laws and ordinances restricting smoking in public places have been
implemented with few, if any, problems. They have been, for the most part,
well accepted by both smokers and nonsmokers. Nonsmoking is now the
norm in most public spaces in North America. Smoking is still the norm in
many countries of Europe and Southeast Asia where a large percentage of
the adult population smokes. Regulation of smoking in public spaces in
many European countries and Japan is still in its early stages.
E.
OSHA actions and proposals
In the U.S., worker health and safety is the primary responsibility of OSHA.
Acting within its authority, OSHA designated ETS a class 1A carcinogen
(known human carcinogen) and began proposed rule-making that would
protect workers from exposure to ETS and provide for a more acceptable
work environment in nonindustrial buildings. As a result, in 1994 OSHA
published notice of its proposal to promulgate an IAQ standard.
