Secondhand smoke Australia

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Secondhand smoke Australias protected workplace
killer

• ASH AustraliaSmokeFree Australia coalition2009

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ASH and SmokeFree Australia

• SmokeFree Australia formed 2002 by ASH
  Australia (health NGO)
• to campaign for 100 smokefree workplaces
• Health groups
• Action on Smoking and Health Australia
• Asthma and Allergy Research Institute
• Australian Council on Smoking and Health
• Australian Medical Association
• Cancer Council Australia
• Heart Foundation
• Non-Smokers Movement of Australia
• Employee organisations
• Australian Council of Trade Unions
• Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers
  Union
• Media, Entertainment and Arts AllianceMusicians
  Union of Australia

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Outline

• What is SHS?
• Where is it? Unsafe workplaces and exposure
  levels
• What does it do?Serious health harm, especially
  to workers
• Conflict with international law, OHS
  discrimination laws
• What the community wants
• Economic myths facts
• Legal minefield
• De facto OHS exemption
• Next stepsEnding tobacco smokes OHS-exempt
  status

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1. What is SHS?

• Second Hand Smoke
• Toxic, highly carcinogenic airborne workplace
  contaminant
• No safe level of exposure
• 4,000-10,000? compounds
• At least 250 know toxics, including
• 43 known human carcinogens

Some compounds in tobacco smoke such as
2-naphthylamine and 4-aminodiphenyl - when
occurring separately, are banned in workplaces
as Class A (worst) carcinogens
See factsheet at www.repace.com/factsheet.html
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2. Where is it

• Unsafe workplaces with SHS exposure include
• Pubs and clubs (general areas) NT Almost all
  areas totally enclosed promised to end by Feb
  2010 (under review)NSW, Vic, SA
  mostly-enclosed staffed outdoor smoking areas
  WA, Tas Some partly-enclosed staffed
  drinking/dining areas
• Exempted gaming roomsHigh roller exemption
  may be fully enclosed (NSW, Qld, Vic,
  WA)private room/function loopholes (NSW 7
  rooms)
• Outdoor dining areas (NT, NSW, SA, Vic some
  Tas, WA)
• Private workplacesNSW non-government, not
  publicly accessible not specifically covered
  by smokefree laws may be fully enclosed some
  employers believethey are entitled to permit
  indoor smoking
• Prisons, mental health settings, home-visit
  work, vehicles (various)

Details www.ashaust.org.au/SF03/law.htm
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Outdoor smoking areas NSW,
2007-8
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Exposure levels in outdoor areas
NSW, 2008

• 2007-8 NSW Health Dept air quality measurement
  of small particle concentration in
  partly-enclosed outdoor smoking areas in 40
  licensed venues found
• most surveyed areas had poor air quality
• most were over WHO-recommended 24hr exposure
  limit (25 microgms per cu.metre)
• one-third had twice the limit
• some had 4-5 times the limit
• smoke drift 25 of totally enclosed non-smoking
  areas over limit at least 15 of enclosed
  no-smoking rooms adjacent to smoking areas over
  limit

Study powerpoint www.ashaust.org.au/ppts/AirQual
NSW0805.ppt
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3. What it does Serious health harm

•  
• SHS kills (IARC) increased death risk from
  exposure
• Heart/vascular harm significant increase in
  heart attack, severe stroke risk heart/vascular
  harm within minutes of exposure
• Cancers SHS causes cancer in non-smokers
  (IARC) lung, throat, probably more
• Respiratory emphysema, asthma attacks, chronic
  bronchitis, flu viruses, more
• Other meningococcal disease, sexual/reproductive
  harm, dementia, bone disease, ear infection,
  possible diabetes 2, much more
• Significant health harm results at low, typical
  levels of exposure especially when repeated

Evidence www.ashaust.org.au/SF03/health.htm
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Particular risk to workers

• Harm can occur at low levels of exposure -
  especially if repeated
• Even brief exposure increases cancer risk
  workplace exposure can double this risk
• Blood/cell damage within 30 mins of exposure
• Even outdoor areas adjacent to smoking areas
  can have exposure comparable to household
• Heart, asthma sufferers especially vulnerable
• Missing walls do not prevent exposure

Evidence www.ashaust.org.au/SF'03/health.htmWOR
KERS/PATRONS
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4. Conflict with international law

•  
• Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)
  World Health Organisation at
  www.who.int/fctc/en/
• International tobacco control treaty ratified by
  160 countries including Australia (2004)
• Commits parties under Articles 4.2(a), 8 to
  effective, comprehensive action to protect from
  SHS
• WHO Guidelines on Protection from Exposure to
  Tobacco Smoke at www.who.int/fctc/cop/art20820
  guidelines_english.pdf
• FCTC requirements can only be met by100
  smoke-free laws for workplaces and public places
   
• Definitions of "public place",
  "indoor/enclosed, "workplace - current smoking
  areas permitted under most Australian
  state/territory laws do NOT complySmoking
  should NOT be permitted in any roofed or
  otherwise partly-enclosed public places or
  working areas

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Conflict with OHS

•  
• OHS laws meant to protect workers (and
  sometimes others) from preventable hazards
• Work safety authorities meant to consistently
  enforce OHS obligations, overriding other
  legislation
• BUT in most jurisdictions, tobacco is a de
  facto exception to OHS laws/practices not
  banned but tolerated, managed, work safety
  authorities defer to other (weaker) legislation
• Contrast treatment of unstable asbestos, other
  carcinogens
• Weakness of complaint-based procedures many
  workers reluctant to complain even anonymously
  for fear of being identified, losing casual
  shifts/gigs (hence importance of proactive
  legislation requiring employers to make
  workplaces smokefree)
• Result - work safety authority compromised, seen
  as weak on SHS, target of employees anger,
  derision

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Conflict with disability discrimination law

•  
• Smoky workplaces discriminate both in
  employment and general access against people
  with disabilities including heart disease,
  emphysema, asthma, diabetes 2 estimated at 10
  of the population
• Human Rights Commission in 1997 Meeuwissen case
  awarded damages to asthmatic denied access and
  services, ruling that a smoky room is as much
  of a barrier to an asthmatic as is a flight of
  steps to a person in a wheelchair
• Many people still effectively denied employment,
  access because working areas are contaminated by
  SHS

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5. What the community wants

• Public support (NSW 2009) has risen steadily
  to - 80 for totally smokefree pubs and
  clubs- 97 supporting no-smoking policy in
  presently-allowed partly-enclosed dining areas,
  and - 70 in partly-enclosed non-dining areas
• National Drug Strategy Household Survey (2007)
  of almost 25,000 Australians aged 12 showed
  increase to - 82 support for 100 smokefree
  workplaces - 77 support for 100 smokefree
  pubs, clubs

Evidence www.ashaust.org.au/SF'03/support.htm
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6. Economic myths

• The tobacco industry and its hospitality/gaming
  allies have delayed and weakened smokefree
  workplace laws by promoting fears of trade and
  job losses
• These interests routinely
• put revenue arguments first
• trivialise or dont mention public health / OHS
• attribute any all business losses to smoking
  bans
• always refer to smoking bans, not smokefree
  laws
• exaggerate losses claim bankruptcies, closures
• claim adverse impact on community/charitable
  projects
• cite only gambling revenue, not whole of
  hospitality
• use unreliable/subjective/short-term/seasonal
  data
• dont mention massive savings in health and
  other costs from reducing active passive
  smoking
• dont mention that gaming revenue lost is
  actually spent on other things
• avoid discussion of ethical problems in milking
  pokie profit from nicotine- addicted gamblers
• avoid/downplay hospitality orgs relationship
  with tobacco industry

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and economic facts

• Smokefree laws do NOT harm general hospitality
  trade or jobs - worldwide evidence (100 studies)
  shows impact on trade neutral to beneficial
• Only "glitch" from smokefree laws gambling
  revenue normally small hiccup recovering in
  1-2 years
•  This revenue is based on exploiting what the
  gaming industry calls "the trance-inducing
  ritual" of smoking and gambling Can such
  revenue be justified especially given staff
  health cost?
• Any gambling revenue lost is spent elsewhere,
  so no loss to the economy and more than offset
  by massive savings in health/insurance/productivit
  y costs to community and governments - as smoking
  rates fall and SHS harm is reduced

Evidence www.ashaust.org.au/SF03/economic.htm
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7. Legal minefield

• Sharp v Port Kembla RSL Club (2001)NSW Supreme
  Court awards 466,000 damages to non-smoking bar
  worker who developed throat cancer from working
  in smoky club and hotel
• Phil Edge v Workcover SA (2005) Non-smoking
  former barworker wins undisclosed settlement
  after tongue cancer caused by SHS in the pub
  where he worked
• Hanson case, US (2004)US Supreme court rules
  that death of asthmatic Olympic Airways passenger
  Dr Abid Hanson was caused by being seated 3 rows
  from smoking section, "surrounded by secondhand
  smoke" TPLR, Vol 18, p. 2.407

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How do we end tobaccos de facto OHS-exempt
status?

• Tobaccos long history of protected status -
  Specific exemptions to smokefree places laws
• - Differential soft treatment by work safety
  authorities managed
• - Tobacco industry powerful, lobbies
  aggressively, donates/schmoozes MPs, uses
  employer groups (Democracy is not cheap AHA)
• Seriousness of health hazard warrants strong and
  specific measures - Further risk of
  preventable deaths, illness unacceptable- Some
  jurisdictions OHS laws subordinated in practice
  by weaker legislation despite assurances
  from government, work safety authorities
• Wide variance of state/territory laws shows
  stronger national leadership/co-ordination
  needed - Qld, ACT have good laws but waiting
  for weaker jurisdictions to catch up could
  mean years more preventable harm
• Obligation under international law - FCTC calls
  for all governments to act, with national
  co-ordination as necessary to ensure
  compliance

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8. Next steps

• Comprehensive legislation in all jurisdictions
  with national co-ordination under FCTC
  obligations as needed - to ensure
• No-one works in any area contaminated by SHS
  amend OHS and/or smokefree places laws/regs to
  ensureall working areas in all workplaces 100
  smokefree - require proactive separation -
  include all public eating, drinks service,
  gaming, live entertainment areas- resist
  voluntary/opt out provisions not acceptable,
  exploitative
• Work safety authorities to enforce elimination,
  not management of SHS - clear, unambiguous
  direction from governments needed
• End gaming loopholes - all-jurisdiction
  agreement on speedy end-dates- NB also a measure
  to help counter Problem Gambling
• Review of prison/health/home visit settings
• Re-establish paramountcy of OHS

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More information
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
Australia www.ashaust.org.au staffords_at_ashaust.or
g.au Ph. [phone]

• SmokeFree Australia www.ashaust.org.au/SF03
• Health and employee coalition for smokefree
  workplaces
• Action on Smoking and Health Australian Council
  of Trade Unions Australian Council on Smoking
  and Health Australian Medical Association
  Cancer Council Australia Liquor, Hospitality
  and Miscellaneous Workers Union Media,
  Entertainment and Arts Alliance Musicians
  Union Heart Foundation Non-Smokers Movement
  of Australia Asthma and Allergy Research
  Institute