Maryland to Introduce Smokefree Workplace Law

No one should have to breathe dirty air to hold a job

Maryland, 1/22/04...  Today, Maryland State Senator Ida Ruben and Delegate Barbara Frush will introduce legislation to give ALL Maryland workers a safe, healthy, smokefree workplace.  They will be joined by legislative colleagues co-sponsoring the legislation.

A recent Maryland poll found that 86% of voters agree that all Maryland workers should be protected from tobacco smoke, a known cancer-causing substance.  Currently, restaurant and bar workers are the only workers in Maryland without protection.

"I work in a restaurant and bar to help pay for school," says Maryland graduate student Jen Valente.  "I shouldn't have to breathe dirty air to do my job.  My health and my right to breathe clean air are just as important as other people's."

Patty Young, a flight attendant who fought for years to win smokefree workplace legislation on airplanes, explains it this way, "Forcing smoke down my lungs is pulmonary rape.  It invades my body against my will, and it's not fair."

If successful, Maryland would join California, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts as a smokefree workplace state.  Arizona, Rhode Island, Georgia, and Washington are also considering smokefree workplace proposals.

Florida, Vermont, and Utah have enacted smokefree restaurant laws, but still allow smoking in stand-alone bars.

Excerpts taken from smoke-free.net.