NYC+Smoking+Ban

__NYC Smoking Ban__ The debate continues

media type="custom" key="7059303" width="130" height="130" this first NYC smoking ban was first estabilished on March 26, 2003. so thie whole idea of haveing a smoking ban in NYC is not really a big suprise. But now the city of New York is Considering adding on to the origanal ban. Violators of the proposed law, which would also cover boardwalks, marinas and pedestrian plazas such as that found near Times Square, would face a quality-of-life violation carrying a fine of about $50, said Jessica Scaperotti, a spokeswoman for the mayor. The Parks Department will enforce the law, she said. Smokers may continue to light up on public sidewalks and in parking lots, she said.

"Cigarettes kill some 7,500 New Yorkers every year, and thousands more suffer smoking-related strokes, heart attacks, lung diseases and cancers,” city Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said at the news conference. “By expanding the act to cover parks and beaches, we can reduce the toll even further.”

On March 26, 2003, New York State legislators approved a state-wide smoking ban.Governor Pataki signed it immediately. The state ban took effect July 24, 2003. The ban covers all workplaces, including bars, small restaurants, bingo parlors and other venues not covered by the city's previous smoking law. Owners of establishments could be fined $400 for allowing smoking and eventually could have their business licenses suspended.

"Fundamentally, people just don't want the guy next to them smoking," Bloomberg said. “People will adjust very quickly and a lot of lives will be saved.”

The study also found the city's restaurants and bars prospered despite the smoking ban, with increases in jobs, liquor licenses, and business tax payments. The President of the New York nightlife association stated that business had been harmed and that the Department of Health had included all restaurants in the figures, including "Starbucks and McDonald's".A 2006 study by the New York State Department of Health found similar results: "(...) the CIAA has not had any significant negative financial effect on restaurants and bars in either the short or the long term." Those who were opposed to the law([]) stated that "Whether you smoke or not, we call on all defenders of democracy to join us in denouncing such government infringement on private property rights. It is NOT a health issue, it's a freedom of choice issue. Allow them to discriminate against one segment of society and they will come for you next".



Passive smoking has played a central role in the debate over the harms and regulation of tobacco products. Since the early 1970s. the tobacco industry has been concerned about passive smoking as a serious threat to its business interests; harm to "innocent bystanders" was perceived as a motivator for stricter regulation of tobacco products. Despite an early awareness of the likely harms of secondhand smoke, the tobacco industry coordinated to engineer a scientific controversy with the aim of forestalling regulation of their products.Currently, the health risks of secondhand smoke are a matter of scientific consensus, and these risks have been one of the major motivations for smoking bans in workplaces and indoor public places.There is ample scientific evidence that secondhand smoke causes many of the same diseases as direct smoking, including cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases.overall increased risk, reviewing the evidence accumulated on a worldwide basis, the International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded in 2004 that "Involuntary smoking (exposure to secondhand or 'environmental' tobacco smoke) is carcinogenic to humans." Can cause Low birth weight, Premature birth, Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In his 2006 report, the US Surgeon General concludes: "The evidence is sufficient to infer a causal relationship between exposure to secondhand smoke and sudden infant death syndrome."The risk in children increases significantly with higher amount of passive smoking, even if the mother doesn't smoke, thus not restricting risk to prenatal exposure during pregnancy. Overall increased risk of death in both adults, where it is estimated to kill 53,000 nonsmokers per year, making it the 3rd leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. and in children.

[] [] (people against the origanal law) [] [] []

Jennifer Smokonich