[Intl-tobacco] Healthier to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Smoke-Free Irish Pub

[robert weissman]

    [links to cited study at press release URL]

http://tobaccofreekids.org/Script/DisplayPressRelease.php3?Display=3D900

For Immediate Release
March 16, 2006

Contact: Jennifer Friedman 202.296.5469

New Harvard Study: Healthier to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in
Smoke-Free Irish Pub

Pubs in Smoke-Free Ireland Have 91 Percent Lower Air Pollution Than Pubs
in Cities Worldwide That Allow Workplace Smoking

Washington, DC - A new study being released today by the Harvard
University School of Public Health and other researchers shows that it's
healthier to celebrate St. Patrick's Day like the real Irish =96 in a
smoke-free bar or pub.

The study measured air pollution levels in 128 Irish pubs in 15
countries, including in the United States and in Ireland, which in March
2004 became the first country to implement a nationwide law making all
indoor workplaces smoke-free, including restaurants and bars. The study
found that the average level of air pollution inside Ireland's
smoke-free pubs was 91 percent lower than inside Irish pubs located in
countries and cities that still permit workplace smoking.

In the United States, the study found that Irish pubs in smoke-free
cities have 95 percent less air pollution than the pubs in U.S. cities
that still allow workplace smoking (another way to look at it: the smoky
Irish pubs in the U.S. had, on average, nearly 20 times more air
pollution than the smoke-free pubs).

"This study shows that a smoke-free Irish pub is both more Irish and
more healthy, on St. Patrick's Day and every other day," said Danny
McGoldrick, Vice President for Research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free
Kids. "It's also a serious reminder that secondhand smoke exposes us to
more than 4,000 chemicals that cause cancer, heart disease and other
health problems. No one should have to endure these serious health risks
in order to earn a paycheck or enjoy a night out. We hope this study
helps to accelerate the growing movement to enact strong smoke-free laws
that protect everyone's right to breathe clean air."

In the United States, twelve states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico have
now enacted smoke-free workplace laws that include restaurants and bars.
These states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine,
Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah,
Vermont and Washington (the Montana and Utah laws extend to bars in
2009, while the DC law does so on January 2, 2007). Two other states =96
Florida and Idaho =96 have smoke-free laws that exempt only stand-alone
bars. Hundreds of cities and counties across the U.S. have also taken
action, as have whole countries including Ireland, England (effective
2007), Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Italy and Uruguay.

The Irish pub study was conducted by researchers at the Harvard School
of Public Health; the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY; and
several organizations in Ireland. The researchers used state-of-the-art
air monitors to measure the levels of fine particle air pollution, of
which secondhand smoke is a major source. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has found that these fine particles can penetrate deep
into human lungs, causing serious lung, heart and other health conditions.

Conducted between January 21, 2004 and March 10, 2006, the study
included 41 smoke-free Irish pubs in Ireland, the U.S. and Canada and 87
smoking-permitted Irish pubs located in Armenia, Australia, Belgium,
China, France, Germany, Greece, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, Poland,
Romania, the U.S. and England. Irish pubs were defined as those that
served Irish beer on tap and had an Irish name (e.g. Murphy's,
O'Donnell's) or a visible statement that the venue was an Irish pub.

In the U.S., smoke-free cities surveyed include Hartford, CT;
Bloomington, IN; Bethesda, MD; Boston, MA; Buffalo and New York City,
NY; Providence, RI; Austin, TX; and Appleton, WI.

U.S. cities in which pub smoking was still allowed at the time of the
study were Phoenix, AZ; Denver, CO; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL;
Indianapolis, IN; Louisville, KY; Baltimore, MD; St. Paul, MN;
Manchester, NH; Hoboken, NJ; Santa Fe, NM; Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill,
NC; Lakewood, OH; Philadelphia, PA; Charleston, SC; Galveston and
Houston, TX; Arlington, VA; and Washington, DC (St. Paul, New Jersey and
Washington, DC have since passed smoke-free laws that will cover
restaurants and bars and are in various stages of implementation).

While pubs in all smoke-free U.S. cities recorded significantly lower
levels of air pollution than those in smoking-permitted cities, one
Irish pub in Hartford, CT and one Irish pub in Providence, RI had the
lowest air pollution levels.

Among U.S. cities, the five highest average levels of air pollution were
recorded in pubs in: Hoboken, NJ; Lakewood, OH; Manchester, NH;
Indianapolis, IN and Galveston, TX. A complete list of air pollution
levels inside pubs in cities in the U.S. and around the world is
available in the report, which can be found online at
www.hsph.harvard.edu <http://www.hsph.harvard.edu>.

The study also noted that, contrary to the claims of opponents of
smoke-free laws, Ireland's smoke-free law has had no negative impact on
restaurant and pub business and business has actually improved since the
smoke-free law was implemented in March 2004. Ireland's Central
Statistics Office (www.cso.ie <http://www.cso.ie>) recently reported
increases in the volume of bar sales, hospitality employment and
visitors to Ireland between 2004 and 2005.

"This study demonstrates that national and local smoking policies can
dramatically improve indoor air quality," said Greg Connolly, the
study's lead researcher and professor at the Harvard School of Public
Health. "There are no safe limits to secondhand smoke, and simply
segregating smokers and non-smokers in indoor spaces is of no use.
Ireland has shown the way for nations to protect their citizens from a
preventable cause of disease and death."

Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including at least
69 known carcinogens, and is a proven cause of lung cancer, heart
disease, and other serious respiratory illnesses. According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is responsible for
more than 38,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Because of the risk that
even short-term exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger heart attacks,
the CDC has advised persons with heart disease to avoid settings where
smoking is allowed. Children are especially vulnerable to other people's
smoke, suffering more bronchitis, asthma and ear infections as a result.

The evidence is also clear that smoke-free laws protect health without
harming business. Dozens of studies and hard economic data have shown
that smoke-free laws do not harm sales or employment in restaurants and
bars and sometimes have a positive impact. Some of the strongest
evidence comes from New York City, where a report found that, in the
year after the city's comprehensive smoke-free law took effect March 30,
2003, business receipts for restaurants and bars increased, employment
rose, the number of liquor licenses increased, virtually all
establishments are complying with the law, and the vast majority of New
Yorkers support the law. There is also growing evidence that smoke-free
laws can save money. A study released in August 2005 by the Society of
Actuaries found that secondhand smoke costs our country $10 billion a
year in health care bills, lost wages and other costs.