GREENLEAF CLEAN
INDOOR AIR BILL THE SUBJECT OF HEARING
HARRISBURG—Sen. Stewart J.
Greenleaf, R-Montgomery/Bucks was the lead-off witness
for a public hearing of the Senate Public Health and
Welfare Committee on Senate Bill 602, a measure
sponsored by the senator to ensure smokefree
workplaces and public places in the commonwealth.
Greenleaf thanked Committee
Chairman, Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, for providing a
forum for discussion of the legislation. Witnesses
representing the State Health Department, public
health organizations, business associations, and a
student group from Penn State University presented
testimony.
Senate Bill 602 would prohibit
smoking in all workplaces and public places, with
exceptions for private residences, private social
functions, and tobacco shops. Other states with
comprehensive smokefree workplace laws include
California, New York, Delaware, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine and
Montana. The states of Florida, Idaho and Utah also
have laws restricting smoking in most workplaces and
public places.
Greenleaf noted that public
health groups estimate that thousands of nonsmokers
exposed to secondhand smoke on the job are at
increased risk of lung cancer, heart attack, and
respiratory illnesses.
He pointed out that The Society
of Actuaries last month released a report concluding
that the cost of secondhand smoke exposure in terms of
mortality, sickness, lost wages, reduced services and
other problems is approximately $10 billion annually
in the United States.
