Background:
• 1992-1996: Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) comprehensive review and public consultation
process on second-hand smoke in the workplace
• April 15, 1998: WCB regulations implemented to protect 85 per cent of workers from exposure to
second-hand smoke. A “sunset clause” exempted hospitality sector, long-term care and correctional
facilities until January 1, 2000
• March 22, 2000: Supreme Court of B.C. struck down the “sunset clause” due to lack of public
consultation
• June 2000: WCB public hearings throughout BC, 546 oral and written submissions received, and
extensive reviews of health studies, economic impacts and general ventilation systems
• March 9, 2001: WCB reintroduced second-hand smoke regulations, with provisions for designated
smoking rooms, effective September 10, 2001
• August 22, 2001: Government established a committee of six MLA’s to review regulations, focusing
on implementation policies and procedures that impact small businesses, and viability of implementing
performance-based regulation
• August 28, 2001: Government overruled WCB Panel of Administrators and delayed second-hand
smoke regulations affecting hospitality sector, long-term care and correctional facilities until
April 30, 2002
What are the health effects of second-hand smoke?
• The BC Ministry of Health Services’ website reports that second-hand smoke is a major cause of
preventable illness and death in BC, killing an estimated 500 non-smokers annually and disabling
thousands more.
• In July 2001, a Canadian study reported that people who are routinely exposed to second-hand smoke,
such as workers in bars and restaurants, can see their risk of lung cancer triple, and that the more
exposure to second-hand smoke, the higher the risk.
• In July 2001, a Japanese study reported that 30 minutes of exposure to second-hand smoke can damage
the heart of a healthy non-smoker, and that non-smokers exposed regularly to second-hand smoke
have a 30 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, after only 30 minutes in a smoky
room, the performance of the hearts of non-smokers were indistinguishable from the hearts of smokers.
Do smoking regulations have a negative effect on small business?
• The fears of economic loss have no basis in reality. The economic impacts of smoking restrictions have
been rigorously examined in numerous studies conducted in US jurisdictions, as well as Australia and
Canada. The findings overwhelmingly show that smoking bans have virtually no negative effects on
hospitality businesses.
• Do ventilation systems clear the air of second-hand tobacco smoke? No. Due to the limitations of general ventilation systems, the smoke cannot be removed from the air before reaching the breathing zone of nearby employees and customers. While ventilation may address comfort issues such as eye irritation and odor, ventilation does not eliminate the toxins and carcinogens in cigarette smoke.
C O A L I T I O N O F B.C.
• In a study conducted by James Repace, former US Environmental Protection Agency health physicist,
it was reported that, “Using current indoor air quality standards, ventilation rates would have to be
increased more than a thousand-fold to reduce cancer risk associated with ETS {second-hand smoke} to
a level considered acceptable to federal regulatory agencies. Such a ventilation rate is impractical since
it would result in a virtual windstorm indoors.”
Is there a safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke?
• No occupational health and safety authority has established a safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Dr. Perry Kendall, the B.C. Provincial Health Officer, stated in February 2000, “There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke . . . . It causes heart disease, lung cancer, asthmatic attacks and other related diseases. No worker should be exposed to this hazard.”
What are the implications if the government recommends a general ventilation option?
• If the government recommends a general ventilation option, they will also have to set a standard for a safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Since scientists around the world agree that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke, exposing workers to any amount of cigarette smoke is unacceptable.
• If a general ventilation solution is allowed for the hospitality sector, it could open the gates for ventilation “solutions” in all BC workplaces. However, no level of government in the western world has established a safe level of exposure for second-hand smoke.
• The concern of many is that if the government bows to pressure for weaker regulations from the hospitality industry, will all other workplace health and safety regulations be put at risk?
Who benefits from delaying the smoking ban?
• The Tobacco Industry is the only one who benefits. In 1996, the U.S. Tobacco Institute acknowledged their fears about the health hazards of second-hand smoke:
“What the smoker does to himself may be his business, but what the smoker does to the nonsmoker is quite a different matter. . . . This we see as the most dangerous development yet to the viability of the tobacco industry that has occurred.”
Conclusion
Second-hand smoke is a scientifically-acknowledged health hazard to smokers and non-smokers, alike.
General ventilation systems are not designed to remove the carcinogens in second-hand smoke and, ultimately, do not protect workers.
Implementing a complete smoking ban in all workplaces is the best solution to ensure all people in BC have healthy workplaces in which to work. However, a common-sense solution would be to implement the WCB regulations, as they now stand, which provide for separately ventilated smoking rooms to protect workers and the general clientele, while accommodating customers who smoke.
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