The Common Council of the town does hereby find that:
(A) The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's Report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, has concluded that (1) secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke; (2) children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory problems, ear infections, and asthma attacks, and that smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children; (3) exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer; (4) there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke; (5) 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; and (6) evidence from peer-reviewed studies shows that smoke-free policies and laws do not have an adverse economic impact on the hospitality industry. According to the 2010 U.S. Surgeon General's Report, How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease, even occasional exposure to secondhand smoke is harmful and low levels of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke lead to a rapid and sharp increase in dysfunction and inflammation of the lining of the blood vessels, which are implicated in heart attacks and stroke. According to the 2014 U.S. Surgeon General's Report, The Health Consequences of Smoking-50 Years of Progress, secondhand smoke exposure causes stroke in nonsmokers. The report also found that since the 1964 Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health, 2.5 million nonsmokers have died from diseases caused by tobacco smoke.
(B) Numerous studies have found that tobacco smoke is a major contributor to indoor air pollution, and that breathing secondhand smoke (also known as environmental tobacco smoke) is a cause of disease in healthy nonsmokers, including 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 approximately 53,000 Americans annually.
(C) The Public Health Service's National Toxicology Program (NTP) has listed secondhand smoke as a known carcinogen.
(D) Based on a finding by the California Environmental Protection Agency in 2005, the California Air Resources Board has determined that secondhand smoke is a toxic air contaminant, finding that exposure to secondhand smoke has serious health effects, including low birth-weight babies; sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); increased respiratory infections in children; asthma in children and adults; lung cancer, sinus cancer, and breast cancer in younger, premenopausal women; heart disease; and death.
(E) There is indisputable evidence that implementing 100% smoke-free environments is the only effective way to protect the population from the harmful effects of exposure to secondhand smoke.
(F) In reviewing 11 studies concluding that communities see an immediate reduction in heart attack admissions after implementation of comprehensive smoke-free laws, the Institute of Medicine of National Academies concluded that data consistently demonstrate that secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attacks and smoke-free laws reduce heart attacks.
(G) 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.
(H) Studies measuring cotinine (metabolized nicotine) and NNAL (metabolized nitrosamine NNK, a tobacco-specific carcinogen linked to lung cancer) in hospitality workers find dramatic reductions in the levels of these biomarkers after a smoke-free law takes effect. Average cotinine levels of New York City restaurant and bar workers decreased by 85% after the city's smoke-free law went into effect. After the implementation of Ontario, Canada's Smoke-free Indoor Air Law, levels of NNAL were reduced by 52% in nonsmoking casino employees and cotinine levels fell by 98%.
(I) Smoke-free indoor air laws result in a significant reduction in fine particulate matter and improved air quality. A Grand Rapids, Michigan study that monitored six restaurants before and after implementation of the state's smoke-free air law found that PM2.5 fine particulate matter was reduced by 92% after the law went into effect, indicating that the vast majority of indoor air pollution in all six venues was due to secondhand smoke. The results in Grand Rapids were consistent with results in Wilmington, Delaware; Boston, Massachusetts; and Western New York.
(J) Following a Health Hazard Evaluation of Las Vegas casino employees' secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace, which included indoor air quality tests and biomarker assessments, the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) concluded that the casino employees are exposed to dangerous levels of secondhand smoke at work and that their bodies absorb high levels of tobacco-specific chemicals NNK and cotinine during work shifts. NIOSH also concluded that the "best means of eliminating workplace exposure to (secondhand smoke) is to ban all smoking in the casinos." A subsequent study in Nevada, whose Clean Indoor Air Act permits smoking in designated areas of casinos, bars, and taverns, indicates that strong 100% smoke-free laws are the only effective way to protect indoor air quality. The study sampled the air quality in 15 casino gaming areas and corresponding nonsmoking areas, and the results indicated that the Clean Indoor Air Act failed to protect air quality in the nonsmoking areas, including children-friendly areas.
(K) 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. The Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that disabled persons have access to public places and workplaces, deems impaired respiratory function to be a disability. The U.S. 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.
(L) Given the fact that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) bases its ventilation standards on totally smoke-free environments. 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 smoke-free in their entirety.
(M) During periods of active smoking, peak and average outdoor tobacco smoke (OTS) levels measured in outdoor cafes and restaurant and bar patios near smokers, rival indoor tobacco smoke concentrations. Nonsmokers who spend six-hour periods in outdoor smoking sections of bars and restaurants experience a significant increase in levels of cotinine when compared to the cotinine levels in a smoke-free outdoor area.
(N) Residual tobacco contamination, or "thirdhand smoke," from cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products is left behind after smoking occurs and builds up on surfaces and furnishings. This residue can linger in spaces long after smoking has ceased and continue to expose people to tobacco toxins. Sticky, highly toxic particulate matter, including nicotine, can cling to walls and ceilings. Gases can be absorbed into carpets, draperies, and other upholsteries, and then be reemitted (off-gassed) back into the air and recombine to form harmful compounds. Tobacco residue is noticeably present in dust throughout places where smoking has occurred. Given the rapid sorption and persistence of high levels of residual nicotine from tobacco smoke on indoor surfaces, including clothing and human skin, this recently identified process represents an unappreciated health hazard through dermal exposure, dust inhalation, and ingestion. The dangers of residual tobacco contamination are present in hotels, even in nonsmoking rooms. Compared with hotels that are completely smoke-free, surface nicotine and air 3EP are elevated in nonsmoking and smoking rooms of hotels that allow smoking. Air nicotine levels in smoking rooms are significantly higher than those in nonsmoking rooms of hotels that do and do not completely prohibit smoking. Hallway surfaces outside of smoking rooms also show higher levels of nicotine than those outside of nonsmoking rooms. Partial smoking restrictions in hotels do not protect non-smoking guests from exposure to tobacco smoke and tobacco-specific carcinogens.
(O) Unregulated high-tech smoking devices, commonly referred to as electronic cigarettes, or "e-cigarettes," closely resemble and purposefully mimic the act of smoking by having users inhale vaporized liquid nicotine created by heat through an electronic ignition system. After testing a number of electronic cigarettes from two leading manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that various samples tested contained not only nicotine but also detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals, including tobacco-specific nitrosamines and diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical used in antifreeze. The FDA's testing also suggested that "quality control processes used to manufacture these products are inconsistent or non-existent." According to a more recent study, electronic cigarette emissions are made up of a high concentration of ultrafine particles, and the particle concentration is higher than in conventional tobacco cigarette smoke. Electronic cigarettes produce an aerosol or vapor of undetermined and potentially harmful substances, which may appear similar to the smoke emitted by traditional tobacco products. Their use in workplaces and public places where smoking of traditional tobacco products is prohibited creates concern and confusion and leads to difficulties in enforcing the smoking prohibitions.
(P) The Society of Actuaries has determined that secondhand smoke costs the U.S. economy roughly $10 billion a year: $5 billion in estimated medical costs associated with secondhand smoke exposure and $4.6 billion in lost productivity.
(Q) 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.
(R) There is no legal or constitutional "right to smoke." Business owners have no legal or constitutional right to expose their employees and customers to the toxic chemicals in secondhand smoke. On the contrary, employers have a common law duty to provide their workers with a workplace that is not unreasonably dangerous.
(S) Smoking is a potential cause of fires; cigarette and cigar burns and ash stains on merchandise and fixtures causes economic damage to businesses.
(T) The smoking of tobacco, hookahs, or marijuana and the use of electronic cigarettes are forms of air pollution and constitute both a danger to health and a material public nuisance.
(U) Accordingly, the Common Council of the town finds and declares that the purposes of this subchapter are:
(1) To protect the public health and welfare by prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment; and
(2) To guarantee the right of nonsmokers to breathe smoke-free air, and to recognize that the need to breathe smoke-free air shall have priority over the desire to smoke.
(Ord. 3, 2018, passed 8-1-2018)