Smoking Ban in WP Parks & Playgrounds

The Common Council has agreed to consider a ban on smoking in White Plains' parks and playgrounds.  Hopefully, it will act to adopt the ban before the 2011 parks and recreation season gets underway.

Most people, including most smokers, know that second hand smoke is seriously harmful, leading to increased rates of heart disease, respiratory illness, and cancer, particularly in the young and elderly. The risks are substantial.  The Surgeon General says "There is no safe amount of second hand smoke."  Deleterious effects start just seconds after exposure!

In order to eliminate or reduce the dangers of second hand smoke, Federal, State and County laws have banned smoking in many environments where non-smokers are involuntarily exposed, such as airplanes, public transportation, restaurants, bars, and workplaces. Locally, private hospitals and medical groups have banned smoking on their campuses, so have hotels, colleges and the White Plains Public Schools.

Banning smoking in our parks and playgrounds will inconvenience some smokers, but like most Americans, they are law-abiding and will make the sacrifice for the good of others.  A few will be reported to Public Safety for persistent violation of the new statute.

The ban on smoking in parks and playgrounds will cost almost nothing to implement, will meet with widespread approval, and will measurably increase the health, safety and quality of life for those enjoying our parks and playgrounds.

Let's get this done now and start working on a ban for the last vulnerable venue -- multifamily housing.

Hospitals Shift Smoking Bans to Smoker Ban

By A. G. SULZBERGER in the New York Times, February 10, 2011

“More hospitals and medical businesses in many states are adopting strict policies that make smoking a reason to turn away job applicants, saying they want to increase worker productivity, reduce health care costs and encourage healthier living.”

“'This shift — from smoke-free to smoker-free workplaces — has prompted sharp debate, even among anti-tobacco groups, over whether the policies establish a troubling precedent of employers intruding into private lives to ban a habit that is legal.”

Read “Hospitals Shift Smoking Bans to Smoker Ban.”

The Elusive 'Smoke-Free' Home

Roni Caryn Rabin, writing in the New York Times on December 13, 2010, said a new study found that even children who live in "smoke-free" apartments are exposed to tobacco smoke. "Children living in apartments had higher levels of the chemical [cotinine, a tobacco metabolite used to assess exposure to secondhand smoke] in their systems than those who lived in detached houses, even though their own units were smoke-free zones."

Read the complete New York Times story.

CUNY Bans Smoking on All Campuses

“CUNY’s move is the latest in a wave of comprehensive smoking bans on college campuses nationwide, a trend that began about five years ago and has gathered momentum in recent months. The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group, reported this month that at least 466 campuses had completely banned smoking or passed resolutions to do so.”

Read the complete New York Times story.

Smoking Causes Gene Damage in Minutes

The statistical link between smoking and cancer has been long known. Now there's clear evidence based on the study of individuals who smoke. In a study funded by the National Cancer Institute and reported in Chemical Research in Toxicology, researchers said the "effect is so fast that it's equivalent to injecting the substance directly into the bloodstream." More in the AFP article picked up by Yahoo! News.

Low Tobacco Smoke Exposure Is Risky

The hazards of secondhand smoke have been known for years, says researcher Ronald Crystal, MD, chief of the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and chair of genetic medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York. "But there were never any studies that had looked at the biology, why this is the case."

His study does that... Read Low Tobacco Smoke Exposure Is Risky

A Personal Look at Secondhand Smoke in Multifamily Housing

[ Email to the White Plains Common Council and the media on March 7, 2009. ]

A month ago, I wrote asking you to ban smoking in multifamily housing in White Plains.

Today I would like to personify the problem with a recent letter.

The author is an elementary school teacher, dedicated to her students, and involved in the community. Your children or grandchildren are probably in her classes.

February 23, 2009

To Bryant Gardens Board Members,

I am writing with great concern about the second hand smoke infiltrating my apartment (Building XX Apt. XX) and its effects on my health. The smell of cigarette smoke in my apartment can be quite overwhelming at times. It is permeating my personal belongings and causing headaches and stomach aches. I’ve been forced to open windows or light scented candles to diffuse the smell.

I am fairly certain that the smoke is coming from the apartment below me, Apt. XX, as the smell of smoke is worse inside my apartment than it is in the hallway. Should you contact Ms. Xxxxx in Apt. XX, I’d appreciate it if you would not use my name specifically.

I thoroughly enjoy living at Bryant Gardens, however, it deeply saddens me that my health is being compromised by living here. Any support you can offer would be greatly appreciated. If you need to get in touch with me, I’d be happy to speak with you. My cell phone number is 914-XXX-XXXX.

Sincerely,

Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx

The writer, a single woman in her thirties, has only herself to worry about. Two doors down, another teacher is eight months pregnant and worries both about four year old Xxxxxxxx and the child on the way. She should. The downstairs smoker isn't the only one in the building.

The Board is concerned, too, but limited technologically and legally.

We can't get rid of the secondhand smoke.
We know that current air conditioning and ventilating systems can't control secondhand smoke (see attached), and while air cleaning systems remove the large, odor-causing particles, they miss the myriad smaller carcinogens.

We can't get rid of the smokers.
Residents are obligated by the proprietary lease and the House Rules to keep smoke from escaping into the building, but if they don't respond to letters, fines, and notices to cure, there is little chance of obtaining relief in the courts at present.

It's up to you.
Our hands are tied. It's up to you, the Common Council, to enact legislation to ban smoking in multifamily housing. There are literally thousands of non-smoking White Plains apartment dwellers sick and dying for relief.