Fulton Findings and intent ordinance (§ 93-2)

The Fulton City Council does hereby find that:

2006 United States Surgeon General's Report

• Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke.

• Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer. • There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

• Establishing smoke-free workplaces is the only effective way to ensure that secondhand smoke exposure does not occur in the workplace, because ventilation and other air cleaning technologies cannot completely control for exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke.

2009 Institute of Medicine Report

• Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 25 to 30 percent.

• It was shown that there was a decrease in the rate of heart attacks after a smoking policy was implemented.

• It was concluded that secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attacks and that smoking policies reduce heart attacks.

CARDIO2000 case-control study

• A significant amount of secondhand smoke exposure occurs in the workplace. Employees who work in smoke-filled businesses suffer a 25-50% higher risk of heart attack and higher rates of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as increased acute respiratory disease and measurable decrease in lung function.

California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA)

• Secondhand smoke is particularly hazardous to elderly people, individuals with cardiovascular disease, and individuals with impaired respiratory function, including asthmatics and those with obstructive airway disease.

United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• The CDC has warned that all patients at increased risk of coronary heart disease or with known coronary artery disease should avoid all indoor environments that permit smoking.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers

(ASHRAE) position document

• ASHRAE has determined that there is currently no air filtration or other ventilation technology that can completely eliminate all the carcinogenic components in secondhand smoke and the health risks caused by secondhand smoke exposure, and recommends that indoor environments be smokefree in their entirety.

The Society of Actuaries

• The Society of Actuaries has determined that secondhand smoke costs the U.S. economy roughly 10 billion dollars a year, 5 billion dollars in estimated medical costs associated with secondhand smoke exposure and 4.6 billion dollars in lost productivity.

Accordingly the City of Fulton finds and declares that the purpose of this chapter is to protect public and employee health by prohibiting smoking in places of employment.