(A) The County Fiscal Court finds that:
(1) Numerous studies have found that tobacco smoke or use of vapor products are a major contributor to indoor air pollution. Breathing secondhand smoke is a cause of disease in healthy non- smokers. These diseases include heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and lung cancer. The National Cancer Institute determined in 1999 that secondhand smoke is responsible for the early deaths of up to 65,000 Americans annually (National Cancer Institute (NCI), Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke: the Report of the California Environmental Protection Agency, Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph 10, Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI), August 1999);
(2) The Public Health Service’s national toxicology program (NTP) has listed secondhand smoke as a known carcinogen (Environmental Health Information Service (BHTS), Environmental Tobacco Smoke: First Listed in the Ninth Report on Carcinogens, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Public Health Service, NTP, 2000; reaffirmed by the NTP in subsequent reports on carcinogens, 2003, 2005);
(3) A study of hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction in Helena, Montana, before, during and after a local law eliminating smoking in workplaces and public places was in effect, has determined that laws to enforce smoke-free workplaces and public places may be associated with a reduction in morbidity from heart disease (Sargent, Richard P.; Shepard, Robert M,; Glantz, Stanton A., A Reduced Incidence of Admissions for Myocardial Infarction Associated with Public Smoking Ban: Before and After Study, British Medical Journal 328: 977-980, April 24, 2004);
(4) Secondhand smoke is particularly hazardous to the elderly, individuals with cardiovascular disease and individuals with impaired respiratory function, including asthmatics and those with obstructive airway disease. Children exposed to secondhand smoke have an increased risk of asthma, respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome, developmental abnormalities and cancer (California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA), Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental, Tobacco Smoke, Tobacco Control 6(4): 346-353, Winter, 1997);
(5) The Americans with Disabilities Act, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., which mandates access to public places and workplaces for persons with disabilities, deems impaired respiratory function to be a disability (Daynard, R.A., Environmental Tobacco Smoke and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Non-smokers’ Voice 15(1); 8-9);
(6) The U.S. Surgeon General has determined that the simple separation of smokers and non- smokers within the same air space may reduce, but does not eliminate, the exposure of non-smokers to secondhand smoke (Department of Health and Human Services, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, 1986);
(7) The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that secondhand smoke cannot be reduced to safe levels in businesses by high rates of ventilation. Air cleaners, which are only capable of filtering the particulate matter and odors in smoke, do not eliminate the known toxins in secondhand smoke (Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Indoor Air Facts No. 5: Environmental Tobacco Smoke, Washington, D.C.: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), June 1989);
(8) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that the risk of acute myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease associated with exposure to tobacco smoke is non-linear at low doses, increasing rapidly with relatively small doses such as those received from secondhand smoke or actively smoking one or two cigarettes a day and 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 (Pechacek, Terry F.; Babb, Stephen; A Commentary: How Acute and Reversible Are the Cardiovascular Risks of Secondhand Smoke, British Medical Journal, 328: 980-983, April 24, 2004);
(9) 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 (Pitsavos, C.; Panagiotakos, D.J.B.; Chrysohoou, C.; Skoumas, J.; Tzioumis, K.; Stefanadis, C.; Toutouzas, P.; Association Between Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke and the Development of Acute Coronary Syndromes: The Cardio 2000 Case-Control Study, Tobacco Control 11(3); 220-225, September 2002);
(10) Smoke-filled workplaces result in higher worker absenteeism due to respiratory disease, lower productivity, higher cleaning and maintenance costs, increased health insurance rates and increased liability claims for diseases related to exposure to secondhand smoke (The High Price of Cigarette Smoking, Business & Health 15(8), Supplement A: 6-9, August 1997);
(11) Numerous economic analyses examining restaurant and hotel receipts and controlling for economic variables have shown either no difference or a positive economic impact after enactment of laws requiring workplaces to be smoke-free. Creation of smoke-free workplaces is sound economic policy and provides the maximum level of employee health and safety (Giantz, S.A.; Smith, L.; The Effect of Ordinances Requiring Smoke-Free Restaurants on Restaurant Sales in the United States. American Journal of Public Healthy 87: 1687-1693, 1997; Colman, R.; Ufbonas, C.M., the Economic Impact of Smoke-Free Workplaces: An Assessment for Nova Scotia, prepared for Tobacco Control Unit, Nova Scotia Department of Health, GPI Atlantic, September 2001);
(12) Smoking is a potential cause of fires (Cigarette and Cigar Bums and Ash Stains on Merchandise and Fixtures Cause Economic Damage to Business Health, 15(8), Supplement A: 6-9, August 1957);
(13) The smoking of tobacco or vapor products is a form of air pollution, a danger to health and a material public nuisance; and
(14) A survey of the indoor air quality of 11 locations in Frankfort, Kentucky, including ten restaurants and one miscellaneous entertainment venue, reflected that individuals at those locations are exposed to tobacco smoke constituents at approximately 2.7 times the National Ambient Outdoor Standard and the level of indoor air pollution at these locations as measured by the average PM 2.5 level was approximately 9.6 times higher than the Lexington, Kentucky, post smoking regulation law average PM 2.5 level.
(B) Accordingly, the County Fiscal Court adopts the foregoing findings as justification for this chapter, the purpose of which is:
(1) To protect the public health and welfare by regulating smoking or use of vapor products in buildings open to the general public; and
(2) To recognize the public’s need to breathe clean or smoke-free air.
(Ord. 8 (2012), passed 5-4-2012; Ord. 11-2019, passed 12-20-2019)