Michigan needs smoking ban in all restaurants, workplaces

Publication Date: 2005-08-27

• Author:HOWARD HEIDEMANN, POINT OF VIEW
• Publication:Port Huron (MI) Times Herald

Every day, thousands of Michigan workers, children and families are facing harmful chemicals where they work and when they eat out due to exposure to secondhand smoke. This is unacceptable and must end.

These concerns are being addressed by the Michigan legislature in Senate bills 0394 and 0395 and House bills 4624 and 4625. They would prohibit smoking in all of Michigan's restaurants and workplaces, with the exceptions of private clubs, bowling alleys, fraternal organizations and private facilities, such as banquet halls.

Smoke-free public places are necessary for the promotion and protection of public health. For more than 30 years, scientific evidence has confirmed cigarette smoke contains many harmful chemicals (such as arsenic, formaldehyde and lead) and can cause serious and life-threatening diseases and accounts for about 3,000 lung-cancer deaths annually in U.S. nonsmokers....

Please join me and encourage your representatives in Lansing to make Michigan smoke-free by passing the legislation before them. You can make a difference.

--Howard Heidemann is a St. Clair County commissioner. He represents District 3 - the southern two thirds of Port Huron.