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Support a Smoke-Free Mecklenburg
| An increasing amount of research has been conducted that shows the dangers of second-hand smoke. Your help is needed to make the Mecklenburg community a healthy place for all lungs. |
September 20, 2006
The negative effects of second-hand smoke have recently been confirmed by the Surgeon General, Richard Carmona, M.D., who released a comprehensive report detailing the harm cigarette and cigar smoke has on the non-smoker.
Not that we need a new report to tell us the dangers of second-hand smoke, we see patients every day with lung cancer who have never smoked a cigarette in their lives.
But we now have a local opportunity to protect our community. There is a movement, Smoke Free Mecklenburg, in Mecklenburg County, to make all restaurants and bars smoke-free. This is the second try at this initiative. There is abundant evidence that doing so does not hurt businesses, including the entire country of Ireland! But those who believe a private business owner has the right to do what he wants challenge this argument. They claim that a business owner wants to have a smoke-free business should have the legal right to do so.
This clearly flies in the face of all the other regulations that protect consumers in the private business world, especially restaurants. For example, there are abundant public health regulations for restaurants that can lead to the loss of license, such as inadequate refrigeration, poorly cooked hamburger, etc. This is for the public health of the customer and not a right of the business owner. You can't hang a sign on a restaurant indicating that you do not 'choose' to follow public health laws.
Insisting on a non-smoking environment is a not violation of personal rights, it is a health concern for the non-smoker, especially our youngest citizens!
Smoke-Free Mecklenburg is a local grassroots coalition of health care professionals, advocacy groups and individuals committed to bringing smoke-free restaurants, bars and workplaces to Mecklenburg County. You should know that this initiative is not anti-smoking or against the tobacco industry. This is an initiative to promote health, to protect children and workers, and to help businesses stay productive and competitive in the current economy.
To show your support for a Smoke-Free Mecklenburg County, sign the petition at: http://www.smokefreemecklenburg.com.
And that is that!
