Air Quality Study Results Released, Thoughts from Pres. & CEO, Treasure Valley YMCA, Jim Everett

A new study released by the Coalition for a Healthy Idaho (CHI) finds that Treasure Valley bars are, on average, 15 times more polluted than restaurants covered by Idahos smokefree law that protects many workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. These same bars reach pollution levels that are 36 times more than outdoor pollution levels in the Valley.

This project is the first scientifically based study of its type to measure the impact of smoking on the indoor air quality in local area workplaces, and the effects of secondhand smoke on workers.

Volunteer researchers in the Treasure Valley conducted the study, supervised by researchers at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (www.roswellpark.org) in Buffalo, New York - the national leader in studying effects of secondhand smoke on indoor air quality. Researchers used state-of-the-art air monitors in bars in Boise, Meridian and Garden City to measure the levels of fine particle air pollution, of which secondhand smoke is a major source.

The study found that full-time bar employees in the Treasure Valley are exposed on the job to more than four times the average annual limits of fine particulate air pollution recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has found that these fine particles can penetrate deep into human lungs, causing serious lung, heart and other health conditions.

These study results come as Smokefree Idaho is asking Idaho city councils to pass comprehensive ordinances that would protect workers from the health hazards of secondhand smoke by making all workplaces smokefree.

This study shows precisely why city councils in Idaho should implement comprehensive smokefree ordinances covering all indoor workplaces and all workers, said Shauneen Grange, campaign coordinator of Smokefree Idaho. The study demonstrates conclusively that the smokefree air law in Idaho is effectively protecting the health of workers and patrons from the health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke in restaurants while those in smoking-permitted bars are still exposed to hazardous levels of air contaminants.

The Coalition for a Healthy Idaho is a group of more than two dozen organizations working together to decrease the impact of tobacco on the health of Idahoans. The Coalition supports Smokefree Idaho an effort to make ALL indoor public and work places in Idaho 100% smokefree.

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