Health and Business Groups Launch Ad Campaign About Need for Comprehensive Smoke-Free Law in Pe...(o to http://www.pact Secondhand smok...),Health

"Secondhand smoke is a proven cause of lung cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses," said Bill Corr, Executive Director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "With a comprehensive smoke-free law in Pennsylvania, we can ensure that no one has to choose between their health and their paycheck."

Patrick Conway, CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, added, "It would be totally unacceptable for Pennsylvania to have two classes of citizens -- those we protect and those we don't protect from the deadly pollutants in secondhand smoke."

The newspaper and radio ads make the following points:

-- Secondhand smoke is a serious public health hazard. In issuing a landmark report on secondhand smoke in June 2006, the U.S. Surgeon General stated, "The debate is over. The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard that causes premature death and disease in children and nonsmoking adults." Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including at least 69 known to cause cancer. According to the Surgeon General, secondhand smoke is proven to cause lung cancer, heart disease, serious respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. It is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States each year. The Surgeon General also found that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke; the only way to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke is with comprehensive smoke-free workplaces and public places; and smoke-free laws do not hurt business.

-- Pennsylvanians deserve the same protections from secondhand smoke - and the same right to breathe clean air -- that more than half of all Americans already have. The ads point out that 22 states have passed smoke-free laws that include res
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