Editorial: Clearing away the smoke
Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin
August 1, 2005
While some have argued that the smoking ban in bars and restaurants across New York state has hurt some businesses, there is a new argument that it probably has helped the health of their workers. A study featured in the August issue of Tobacco Control shows notable declines in symptoms such as sneezing, irritated and runny noses. The number of workers who experienced red and irritated eyes dropped from 67 percent to 25 percent. Levels of cotinine in the subjects' saliva declined by 78 percent. (The byproduct of nicotine is a marker of how much second-hand smoke a person has been exposed to.)
Obviously it's too-short a time since the law began in July 2003 to determine long-term health effects. With such a promising start, it would appear that businesses might see a dramatic drop in the number of sick days employees use over time.
In 2004, the employees reported being exposed to smoking on average just 12 minutes on the job. That's quite a change from the 12 hours they were exposed to it in the previous year.
There's a lot to be said for breathing easier on the job.