Now Is the Time for Michigan Workplaces to Go Smokefree Every day, thousands of hard-working Michigan families are subjected to cigarette smoke in the workplace. Employees of bars, restaurants, some offices, and factories are involuntarily exposed to the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States: secondhand smoke. According to a University of California, Berkeley study, food service workers are approximately 50% more likely to develop lung cancer than the general public, primarily due to secondhand smoke at work. Thirty-three states have already passed legislation to protect workers from secondhand smoke, and I’d like Michigan to become number thirty-four. Yesterday I spoke at the State Capitol at the “Campaign for Smokefree Air” rally, urging action on legislation that would make all Michigan workplaces smokefree. People have the right to breathe clean, smokefree air, especially when working to support themselves and their families. Jobs are necessary for survival, and most places of employment have strict guidelines in place to keep their workers safe from harm. Secondhand smoke is harmful, and I’m hoping the House will recognize this and take a stand for smokefree workplace legislation before the end of the month. Here I am speaking to a crowd inside the Capitol rotunda. Everyone was fired up! The view from the top... people from all over Michigan showed up to support smokefree workplaces.
September 17, 2008 by Senator Raymond E Basham
Posted in Health Care
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