News Release
For Immediate Release
June 10, 2008
Contact:
Aaron Zappia
(215) 657-7700

Clean Indoor Air Act Passes Senate

Senator Greenleaf's Bill to Ban Smoking in Public Places Ready for Governor's Signature

HARRISBURG—Today, health advocates, cancer fighting organizations, and thousands of Pennsylvanians waiting to breathe free, celebrate the final passage of Senate Bill 246, the Clean Indoor Air Act, making Pennsylvania the 28th state to enact a comprehensive smoking ban that prohibits smoking in most public places and workplaces.

"This has been a long time coming," said Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf (R-12), who originally introduced the legislation in 1993 and saw it voted on for the first time in the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee last January.

That event began what has been a 14 month-long process of getting a final version of the bill passed by the House and Senate.  When the bill was approved by the Pennsylvania Senate in June, 2007, it was extensively amended to exempt certain businesses such as a portion of casino floors, bars and taverns with minimal food sales and private clubs among others.  When the House acted on the legislation, many of the Senate exemptions were removed, but the bill was rejected when returned to the Senate for concurrence.

The bill that was approved today is the result of the work of a legislative conference committee appointed to work out differences in the conflicting House and Senate versions of the legislation.  Senator Greenleaf chaired the committee. 

The major exemptions in the final bill include bars and taverns with food sales totaling 20% or less, private clubs, cigar bars and adult care facilities.  Smoking will be prohibited in 75% of sleeping quarters in lodging establishments, and 75% of casino floors must remain smoke-free which can be decreased to 50% with evidence of lost revenue by machine. 

The state law does not allow for municipalities to enact their own bans, but will not affect Philadelphia's current ban.

"This is a great victory, but it came as the result of much compromise—it had to," said Senator Greenleaf.  "For nearly 15 years I have led the fight in the Senate to ban smoking in Pennsylvania's public places, and ideally I wanted a very strict bill.  However, this is the best legislation that can be approved by this legislature at this point in time." 

Greenleaf indicated that the passage of a ban marks the beginning rather than the end of the effort to curb exposure to tobacco smoke in public places.  "I believe that within several years, we are going to see legislation to strengthen the law and place more broad restrictions on all public places in the state," said the Senator.  "The most important thing is that we now have a law on the books that is going to protect the overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians from the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke." 

According to a 2006 report by the United States Surgeon General, cigarette smoke has been classified as a class 'A' carcinogen by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, meaning that its potential for causing cancer is equal to chemicals like asbestos and arsenic. 

The report also indicates that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke and there is no ventilation system which can effectively remove or limit tobacco smoke to a confined portion of a building. 

In addition, it is documented that over 53,000 non-smokers die each year due to exposure to secondhand smoke.           

"The scientific evidence that is available today is irrefutable, and we must take heed to protect the public," said Greenleaf.  "Today, Pennsylvania joins its neighboring states of New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Maryland, and Ohio that already have a ban in place and as well becomes the 28th state in the nation to ban smoking in most public places.  We are soon to see the rest of the states follow suit.  We know today that this is a threat to public health of equal proportion to toxic waste and asbestos.  I am relieved that we finally have the ability to protect Pennsylvanians." 

"I would like to thank all the members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly who helped to make this possible, but I would like to give special thanks to the thousands of Pennsylvanians that I have met over the years who have encouraged a ban and who have been so desperately waiting to see this legislation pass.  I would also like to thank the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, Smoke-free Pennsylvania and all those who so tirelessly fight to improve public health policies."