Clean Indoor Air: A Toolkit for Going Smoke-free in Pennsylvania

Transcription

1 Clean Indoor Air: A Toolkit for Going Smoke-free in Pennsylvania

2 Table of Contents This package includes: Letter from Garry L. Pincock CEO of the American Cancer Society, Pennsylvania Division Strategies for Promoting and Implementing a Smoke-free Workplace FreshStart Information Free Quitline Materials Great American Smokeout posters, table tents and web banners Sample newsletter copy Sample blast content Sample letter to employees regarding the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act

3 Dear Community Partner, Beginning September 11, 2008, Pennsylvanians can all breathe easier as the new statewide Clean Indoor Air legislation goes into effect. This legislation will protect the majority of Pennsylvania workers and help further the American Cancer Society s mission of reducing tobacco-related illnesses and mortality caused by secondhand smoke. In addition to the negative health effects of secondhand smoke, tobacco use also costs businesses billions of dollars every year in Pennsylvania. Health insurance costs are higher for smokers, and productivity is lowered due to tobacco related illness and increased absenteeism rates. Implementation of smoke-free policies is a proven way to create a healthier, more productive workforce while also helping save your business money. The American Cancer Society has created a toolkit to help you implement smoke-free policies in your workplace. In this package you will find information that will guide you step by step through the process of creating a healthier work environment for your employees by going smoke-free. We re here to help you handle the tough questions your employees will have and to provide support materials for those who want to take this opportunity to quit smoking. Your American Cancer Society would like to thank you and your company for educating your employees about the negative health effects of tobacco use, providing resources for those who wish to quit smoking themselves, and creating a healthier work environment by eliminating secondhand smoke. For more information contact the American Cancer Society 24 hours a day, seven days a week at ACS.2345 or Best regards, Garry L. Pincock, CEO, American Cancer Society, Pennsylvania Division

4 Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Strategies for Promoting and Implementing a Smoke-free Workplace

5 Introduction Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society On September 11, 2008 Pennsylvania will join the many states that have put their residents health first by passing the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act. The law was signed in June by Governor Rendell and will protect 95% of the workforce from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke. Businesses are becoming increasingly sensitive to health and safety practices at the workplace that protect employees. Tobacco cessation continues to be one of the most cost-effective measures to reduce health care costs and increase productivity at the workplace. For this reason, more and more companies across the nation are adopting tobacco-free policies and providing worker benefits and services that support prevention and cessation of tobacco use. To protect all individuals from exposure to secondhand smoke, companies will, ideally, implement policies that require a smoke-free environment on all company property (including vehicles), and provide smoking cessation support for their employees and covered dependents. Information in this booklet, adapted from the CDC s comprehensive guide Making Your Workplace Smokefree: A Decision Maker s Guide, can assist employers in creating a safe, healthful environment that enhances employee well-being, while improving the company s bottom line. For each employee who successfully quits tobacco, an employer can expect to see an annual savings of nearly $3,500. * Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998 * Based on health care and lost productivity costs, converted to 2007 dollars.

6 Table of Contents Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Page Contents 1 Strategies for Promoting a Smoke-free Workplace Policy 2 Getting Organized 3-4 Developing the New Non-smoking Policy 5 Coverage of Services 6 A Sample Tobacco-free Workplace Policy 7 Communicating the Policy and Plan 8 Implementing your Smoke-free Policy 9 Enforcing the Smoke-free Workplace Policy Handling Tough Questions 12 Additional Resources

7 Strategies for Promoting a Smoke-free Workplace Policy Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Employers can take many steps to reduce smoking-related costs and the human toll of tobacco use. Below are strategies your company can choose when developing your smoke-free workplace policy: Policy Change Smoking Cessation Health Benefits Corporate Gold Standard Implement a smoke-free workplace policy. Utilize the American Cancer Society Smoking Cessation Tool and Smoke-free Implementation Guide. Provide coverage for smoking cessation counseling. Provide coverage for pharmaceutical aides. Financially support multiple quit attempts by the smoker, if necessary. Offer smoking cessation information and literature through a year-round communications plan. Policy Implement a smoke-free workplace policy. Support smoking cessation through health benefits. Provide coverage for smoking cessation counseling. Provide coverage for pharmaceutical aides. Financially support multiple quit attempts by the smoker if necessary. Offer smoking cessation information and literature through a year-round communications plan. Cessation initiatives Provide employee incentives to stop smoking. Provide information on the benefits of cessation. Offer other wellness activities. Participate in the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout. Linkages with the health care system Provide initiatives or incentives to encourage physician referrals to cessation services. Assist physicians in systematically linking to smoking quitlines. 1

8 Getting Organized Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Identify one key staff person to coordinate the development and implementation of a non-smoking policy (a policy tailored to the size, type, and culture of your organization). Consider forming a Smoke-free Committee to assist with development of the policy and implementation. Ideally, this committee would include representatives from management, union (if applicable), smokers, former smokers, nonsmokers, and various cultural groups. Determine who in your corporation must review (e.g., legal counsel) and who must sign off on the new policy and implementation plan. Assess your company: Outline your policy objectives: Provide an inviting, safe, and healthy environment for customers and employees by protecting them from secondhand smoke. Reduce costs associated with smoking (e.g., employer and employee health care costs, absenteeism, building maintenance). Reduce likelihood of litigation related to impact of secondhand smoke on employees. Review your organization s current smoking policy. How is it perceived? Review existing health benefit coverage or other company support to help employees and their families quit smoking. Identify your organization s strengths and weaknesses that would impact implementation of a new policy (e.g., attitudes of management and employees). Review best practices and lessons learned from other corporations that have implemented non-smoking policies. 2

9 Developing the New Non-smoking Policy Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Non-smoking policies can include: Purpose of the policy and its link with organizational values and strategy. People affected by the policy (e.g., employees, customers, vendors). Identification of where smoking is prohibited (and permitted, if anywhere*). Enforcement and consequences of noncompliance. Identification of support that will be available for smokers who want to quit (e.g., counseling, medications, benefit coverage). Effective date of policy and transition steps, if any (Because this is now a Pennsylvania State Law, it is effective on September 11, 2008). * It is strongly recommended that the smoke-free policy prohibit smoking in company facilities and vehicles (and on company grounds). Permitting smoking in designated areas, including separately ventilated areas, is strongly discouraged. Secondhand smoke is a health hazard. Ventilation technologies do not sufficiently protect individuals from the harmful effects of breathing in secondhand smoke. Design the implementation plan: Develop action steps, timetable, and staff accountability for implementation. Include time to: Communicate the policy and support available to smokers (companies typically provide one to four months advance warning, some provide a longer time frame). Educate and support employees (companies might consider educating employees about the dangers of secondhand smoke before announcing the new policy). Prepare management and supervisory staff. 3 Strategic Timing Consider coordinating your activities around key calendar events: The American Cancer Society s Great American Smokeout held annually, the third Thursday in November. The World Health Organization s World No Tobacco Day held in May. The first of the year to coincide with New Year s resolutions.

10 Developing the New Non-smoking Policy Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society When communicating the policy and educating employees: Be clear that management fully supports the policy (e.g., announcement could be accompanied by letter from CEO). Consider holding meetings with supervisors prior to the announcement. Extensively communicate through vehicles such as staff meetings; notices posted throughout the workplace; fact sheets in pay envelopes; intranet, , speakers/presentations, and others. Amend employee handbooks, rules of employment, training materials, and policy/procedure manuals to include the new policy and enforcement procedures. Seek employee feedback so questions and concerns can be addressed. On the effective date of the policy, it is important that the following be in place: signage, smoking cessation and smoker support, and facility changes (if any). Provide employees an avenue for asking questions and making comments, such as a designated box. Develop a 1-2 page document with answers to frequently asked questions. Post in a public forum such as the company intranet, monthly newsletters, and staff break rooms. Consider offering support to smokers who want to quit: Decide what support the company can offer smokers to help them change their smoking behavior. Support services should be in place in advance of instituting a non-smoking policy. Support can include: Providing smoking cessation classes or counseling at the workplace. Provide financial coverage for classes and counseling through health plans (covering both employees and their families). Provide coverage for medications. Encourage use of telephone quitlines. Communicate availability of community-based cessation programs and self-help materials. Distribute information on benefits of quitting or reducing smoking; how to prevent relapse for those who have quit; and how nonsmokers can support their smoking colleagues and family members. As an employer, you can reduce employee smoking rates, reduce employee productivity by adopting tobacco-free policies and offering tobacco cessation services. 4

11 Coverage of Services Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Ensure your corporate benefit plan covers smoking cessation therapies and medications. Smoking cessation programs are the most successful when designed to: Cover the cost of counseling services, including proactive telephone counseling, individual counseling, or classes; Offer FDA-approved drug therapies, including prescription and over-the-counter nicotine replacement medication and Bupropion; Offer counseling sessions over a period of several weeks for the greatest effect; Reduce out of pocket expenses for employees who wish to make a quit attempt. Nicotine Replacement Therapy is supplied as a gum, skin patch, nasal spray, or inhaler. It works by providing a substitute source of nicotine, without the other harmful components of cigarette smoke. Nicotine replacement therapy can reduce or eliminate the withdrawal symptoms many have when they quit smoking. Zyban (bupropion hydrochloride) and Chantix (varenicline) are non-nicotine-containing medications available by prescription. Zyban reduces the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal by acting on chemicals in the brain related to nicotine cravings. Zyban is also prescribed under another name Wellbutrin to treat depression. Chantix lessens pleasure from smoking and reduces symptoms of withdrawal. TYPE Nicotine Gum Nicotine Patch Nicotine Spray Nicotine Inhaler Bupropion Hydrochloride Varenicline BRAND NAME Nicorette Nicoderm CQ, Nicotrol Nicotrol NS Nicotrol inhaler Zyban Chantix 5

12 A Sample Tobacco-free Workplace Policy Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Tobacco-Free Workplace Model Policy Use this model policy, provided by the Tobacco Public Policy Center, to create your own tobacco-free policy. This policy can also be found on the Tobacco Public Policy Center s Web site at [COMPANY] S TOBACCO-FREE POLICY Effective 9/11/2008, [COMPANY] is implementing a campus-wide tobacco-free policy for all employees, customers, and visitors in order to provide a clean, healthy, productive, and safe environment for all. This policy is designed in compliance with the Pennsylvania State Law, which will go into effect on 9/11/2008. I. POLICY This policy is in effect during and after work hours and will apply to: All [COMPANY] employees on all shifts; Customers, vendors, clients, consultants, contractors, and all other visitors; and Members of committees, including our Board of Directors. Smoking and tobacco use of any kind will be prohibited on all [COMPANY] owned and/or leased locations/premises; all internal and external areas, parking garages, and parking lots; all entrances and exits; and all company owned and/or leased vehicles. Additionally, the policy will be in place at all company sponsored events both on our premises and at external locations. Employees who choose to use tobacco products must do so on their regularly scheduled breaks or meal periods and off company property. No ashtrays are permitted in any indoor or outdoor area on company premises. II. PROCEDURE Copies of this policy shall be distributed to all current and future employees, posted on the premises and available for inspection upon request. [COMPANY] shall not discharge, refuse to hire, or in any manner retaliate against an employee, applicant, or customer who exercises any rights afforded by this policy, or anyone who reports or attempts to prosecute a violation of this policy. Compliance with this policy is mandatory and policy violations by employees will be subject to the standard disciplinary actions of the company. Any disputes involving the policy should be handled through the company s established procedures for resolving other work-related problems. If the problem persists, an employee can speak to [NAME OF APPROPRIATE WORKPLACE CONTACT] at extension, or the [AGENCY OR HEALTH DEPARTMENT CONTACT ENFORCING LAW] at. 96

13 Communicating the Policy and Plan Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society A Year-round Smoking Cessation Program Most smokers (70 percent) report a desire to quit, and roughly 46 percent make an attempt each year. Smoking is very complex. In addition to being addicted to the nicotine, some report being hooked on the act of smoking itself. For some, the addiction is stronger and for others, the act of smoking serves as a way to relax, become more comfortable in social settings, or as a reward for getting through tough situations. With or without the physical need, there can still be strong urges to smoke. Smokers attempting to quit need a great deal of support. Smokers can rapidly move in and out of a stage of readiness when deciding to make a quit attempt. It is important that your company is ready and supportive of the employee who decides to make a quit attempt. Providing your employees with year-round messages on your company s smoking cessation benefits and coverage will be critical. Tell employees about the help you provide through: paycheck inserts company newsletters posters s other company media 7

14 Implementing your Smoke-free Policy Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Principles of Successful Smoke-free Workplace Implemention Focus on smoke, not the smoker. Focus on health and safety regarding secondhand smoke, not individual rights. Obtain management commitment and support. This support can be made visible to employees through the use of s, paycheck stuffers, posters, newsletters, and other company communication channels. Provide training for middle managers and supervisors on policy communication and enforcement. Educate the workplace community about the hazards of combining secondhand smoke and materials used in the work processes. Ensure that restrictions and enforcement are equitable across job categories. Offer smoking cessation resources to all employees and their families before and after the policy change. Enforce the secondhand smoke policy just as any other policy enforcement. Provide training in enforcement for supervisors. Do not differentiate between smoking breaks and other kinds of breaks. Provide continuous smoking cessation educational opportunities and resources after the policy has been implemented to support employees in their attempts to quit smoking and to prevent relapse. From: Making Your Workplace Smokefree: A Decision Maker s Guide, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wellness Councils of America, American Cancer Society, p 38. 8

15 Enforcing the Smoke-free Workplace Policy Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society When changing or adding restrictions to standards of conduct, it is a good idea to let employees know formally. Putting policies in writing has several advantages: It enables managers and subordinates to clearly understand individual and group boundaries and responsibilities. It is formalized to ensure that all employees are getting the same information. It can be referred to when/if an employee commits an infraction. The organization will be able to prove compliance with federal and state laws that may require you to have anti-harassment rules, no-smoking policies, or drug-free workplace rules. Follow these guidelines to help make certain a policy is implemented and applied: Policy manuals should be updated and easily accessible to all employees. Employees should sign a document stating they have read, understood, and plan to follow the company policy. The signed document should be retained in the employee s personnel file. Training should be provided for supervisors and employees, when applicable. Discipline should be consistently applied to all individuals in similar circumstances. Supervisors should be fully advised of their responsibility in implementation, and should perform scheduled inspections to ensure that work areas and employees are conforming to policy specifications. Provide training to management two to four weeks before implementation of policy. Describe the policy and outline situations they may have to deal with, such as smoking in washrooms and company vehicles. Train receptionists, custodians, security staff, and others on how to advise visitors, contractors, and members of the public about the new policy. Stress that you expect success. The best enforcement procedure is the same as other drug-free workplace policies. Generally, inserting the following statement into the employee handbook will sufficiently address enforcement issues: Any violation of this tobacco use policy will result in discipline, up to and including discharge under [COMPANY NAME] s progressive discipline policy. When drafting enforcement procedures, remember that tobacco is an addictive substance: Show sensitivity to employees who are addicted to nicotine by: Ensuring fair and equal enforcement of the policy. Providing ongoing information on support through awareness programs, handout materials, and cessation service information. Making certain every employee has received a copy of the new policy, and make a note in employees records when policy has been distributed and received. 9

16 Handling Tough Questions Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Implementing a new smoke-free workplace policy creates questions and concerns on the part of employees. Many companies report receiving less negative feedback than expected, however, it is important to be prepared for handling questions and concerns you may receive, particularly from those who smoke. Below are a few questions and possible responses related to the company s new smoke-free workplace policy. Q: We have always been allowed to smoke why has the company decided to make this change? On Friday, June 13, 2008, Governor Edward G. Rendell signed the Clean Indoor Air Act into law. Q: What are the consequences of breaking the law? According to the Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco (PACT), Individuals violating the law will be issued a criminal penalty as follows: 1st offense $250 2nd offense $500 3rd offense $1000 Q: Won t we lose customers who smoke over this? Many companies nationwide observe smoke-free work environments. Most customers will respect the decision to provide a safe, healthy, smoke-free environment for our employees. Q: If I do decide to quit smoking, will the company be willing to help me absorb the financial cost? If yes, provide employees with a list of available counseling services and pharmaceutical products the company is willing to cover. If not, provide the employee with a list of smoking cessation programs available within the community. You may refer employees to the American Cancer Society toll-free number (1-800-ACS-2345) available 24/7 for information on telephone counseling services and local resources. 10

17 Additional Resources Workplace Solutions from the American Cancer Society Tobacco use among employees, as well as exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke, costs employers billions of dollars per year. Adopting a tobacco-free environment provides a safe, healthy place for people to work and customers to visit, while supporting a healthy bottom line for the workplace. For more in depth information on the economic and health costs associated with secondhand smoke, and a guide to going smokefree in your company, see Making Your Workplace Smokefree: A Decision Maker s Guide, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wellness Councils of America, American Cancer Society. Available online at For more information and local resources, contact: American Cancer Society ACS.2345 ( ) PACT Or the Pennsylvania Department of Health 12

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20 Thinking about quitting tobacco? We can help. Speak confidentially with a counselor and get help tailored just for you. Call the Pennsylvania Free Quitline toll free: QUIT.NOW ACS Hope.Progress.Answers.

21 I LL QUIT TODAY. Pennsylvania s FREE QUITLINE QUIT-NOW has been clinically tested and proven to help smokers quit and stay quit. Call today for information or to set your quit date. FREE QUITLINE QUIT-NOW 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the American Cancer Society, your partners in helping your patients quit.

22 I LL QUIT TODAY

23 FIGHT CANCER WITH A CALENDAR. You ve made up your mind to quit smoking. Now set a date and stick to it. It s not easy, especially when you re trying to do it alone. We can double your chances of quitting for good so you can make being healthier and enjoying life part of your daily routine. For information on ways to reduce your cancer risk, call or visit us online ACS.2345 cancer.org/greatamericans 2008 American Cancer Society, Inc.

24 FIGHT CANCER WITH A CALENDAR. You ve made up your mind to quit smoking. Now set a date and stick to it. It s not easy, especially when you re trying to do it alone. We can double your chances of quitting for good so you can make being healthier and enjoying life part of your daily routine. For information on ways to reduce your cancer risk, call or visit us online ACS.2345 cancer.org/greatamericans 2008 American Cancer Society, Inc.

25 2008 American Cancer Society, Inc American Cancer Society, Inc. FIGHT CANCER WITH A CALENDAR. You ve made up your mind to quit smoking. Now set a date and stick to it. It s not easy, especially when you re trying to do it alone. We can double your chances of quitting for good so you can make being healthier and enjoying life part of your daily routine. For information on ways to reduce your cancer risk, call or visit us online ACS.2345 cancer.org/greatamericans FIGHT CANCER WITH A CALENDAR. You ve made up your mind to quit smoking. Now set a date and stick to it. It s not easy, especially when you re trying to do it alone. We can double your chances of quitting for good so you can make being healthier and enjoying life part of your daily routine. For information on ways to reduce your cancer risk, call or visit us online ACS.2345 cancer.org/greatamericans FIGHT CANCER WITH A CALENDAR. You ve made up your mind to quit smoking. Now set a date and stick to it. It s not easy, especially when you re trying to do it alone. We can double your chances of quitting for good so you can make being healthier and enjoying life part of your daily routine. For information on ways to reduce your cancer risk, call or visit us online ACS.2345 cancer.org/greatamericans FIGHT CANCER WITH A CALENDAR. You ve made up your mind to quit smoking. Now set a date and stick to it. It s not easy, especially when you re trying to do it alone. We can double your chances of quitting for good so you can make being healthier and enjoying life part of your daily routine. For information on ways to reduce your cancer risk, call or visit us online ACS.2345 cancer.org/greatamericans 2008 American Cancer Society, Inc American Cancer Society, Inc.

26 Great American Smokeout web banners 600 x 77 pixel 160 x 600 pixel

27 Newsletter Insert #1 Double Your Chances of Quitting Tobacco Quitting smoking isn t easy but it is a fight you can win. By using at least one of the ways listed below for your quit attempt, you can double your chances of being successful. By using more than one of the ideas listed below, you double your chances of staying quit for good! Self help materials are available to help you quit smoking, no matter where you are in the process. These materials can help you learn how to prepare for your quit attempt, develop strategies to help with cravings, and prevent relapse once you have quit. The self-help materials offer proven methods that are easy to follow and can keep your motivation high. Support programs can be in a variety of forms group smoking cessation programs, telephone counseling programs, or support groups. To learn about the options available in your community, contact the American Cancer Society at ACS-2345 or Telephone counseling is a proven, confidential, counseling program completed by telephone that will support and help you stay focused on your reasons for quitting. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) can relieve many of the nicotine withdrawal symptoms that occur when a person stops smoking. NRT can double a person s chance of successfully quitting. Talk to your doctor about a strategy that might work for you.

28 Newsletter Insert #2 Pennsylvania: No longer the ashtray of the Northeast! The Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act was signed into law on June 13, 2008 by Governor Edward G. Rendell and will take effect on September 11, Now Pennsylvania will join the dozens of other states who have already begun protecting their citizens from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke. If you or a loved one is a smoker who has been thinking about quitting, this is the perfect opportunity! The American Cancer Society can help with free services such as the Pennsylvania Free Quitline and the Great American Smokeout. The Quitline is toll-free and provides confidential counseling and information about nicotine replacement therapies. Callers receive an assessment from a trained councilor who will help set a quit date and tips to prepare for the day that you become smoke-free. Each person who calls the Quitline receives three or five counseling sessions, depending on the recommendation made by the Quitline councilor they speak with during their initial call. These sessions are free and provide the caller with support and alternatives to smoking when they feel the cravings coming on. Break the habit today by calling QUIT.NOW. The American Cancer Society s Great American Smokeout provides online information about reasons to quit, choosing a quit date and dealing with withdrawl. Visit the website at for information that you can access 24 hours a day from the privacy of your home. Tobacco is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. With healthcare costs skyrocketing, quitting now will add years to your life and dollars to your pocket.

29 Blast #1 Pennsylvania Legislature has passed the Clean Indoor Air Act The new law goes into effect on September 11, According to the Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco (PACT), the Clean Indoor Air Act indicates that no person shall carry a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or other lighted smoking device in any of the following places: All enclosed public places where the public is invited including and not limited to: 1. educational facilities 2. health care related facilities 3. mass transportation (train, subway, bus, chartered bus, plane, taxicab, limousine) 4. train station, subway station, bus station 5. public facility 6. sports or recreational facility 7. theater or performance establishment Restaurants Nightclubs Public meetings Workplaces (indoor area serving place of employment, occupation, business, trade, craft, professional or volunteer activity) Anyone who breaks the law is subject to fines up to $1,000.

30 Blast #2 When Smokers Quit The Health Benefits Over Time Did you know? 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops. (Effect of Smoking on Arterial Stiffness and Pulse Pressure Amplification, Mahmud, A, Feely, J Hypertension:41:183.) 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1988, p. 202) 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp.193, 194,196, 285, 323) 1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp , 304) 1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi) 5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi) 10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker's. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. vi, 131, 148, 152, 155, 164,166) 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's. (US Surgeon General's Report 1990, p. vi) For more information about quitting tobacco visit

31 Blast #3 Why is Second Hand Smoke a Problem? Secondhand smoke is classified as a "known human carcinogen" (cancer-causing agent) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds. More than 60 of these are known or suspected to cause cancer. Secondhand smoke can be harmful in many ways. In the United States alone, each year it is responsible for: an estimated 35,000 deaths from heart disease in non-smokers who live with smokers about 3,400 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults other breathing problems in non-smokers, including coughing, mucus, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function 150,000 to 300,000 lung infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations increases in the number and severity of asthma attacks in about 200,000 to 1 million children who have asthma more than 750,000 middle ear infections in children For more information about the dangers of second hand smoke visit

32 Dear [EMPLOYEES NAME], Did you know that tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States? In 2007 in Pennsylvania, lung cancer alone claimed 7,780 lives. On June 13, 2008, lawmakers took a huge step in protecting Pennsylvanians from the harmful effects of first and second-hand smoke. Governor Edward G. Rendell signed the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act into a law. The law will go into effect on September 11, 2008 and bans smoking in restaurants, most bars, offices, retail shops and factories. [COMPANY NAME] is partnering with the American Cancer Society to bring you information about the new law and how it will protect you and your family from the harmful effects of second hand smoke. Additionally, we would like to encourage you or someone you love to use this opportunity to quit using tobacco products. For help quitting or more information on the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act, please contact Human Resources. Best regards,

33 The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service ACS Hope.Progress.Answers.