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September 7, 2001
Media Contacts:
Kristi Munns, 714-835-5864
American Lung Association of Orange County |
Andy Weisser, 818-703-6444
American Lung Association of California |
Jennifer Horspool, 949-933-4300
American Cancer Society of Orange County |
Ann Gouré, 916-448-0500
American Cancer Society of California |
Laura Quinn, 626-429-2634
American Heart Association of Southern California |
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Judge Rules in Favor of Public Health and the Law
Smoke-free Bar Law found constitutional and fully enforceable
SANTA ANA, Calif. (SEPTEMBER 7, 2001) -- Today, the legal battle waged by a Fullerton bar against California’s Smoke-free Workplace Law took a positive turn when Orange County Judge Daniel McNerney reversed his earlier opinion siding with Lucky John’s owner.
Judge McNerney’s decision found that California’s Smoke-free Workplace Law meets all constitutional requirements for equal protection and is being properly applied to bars with five or fewer employees. This decision is hailed by the American Lung Association, American Heart Association and American Cancer Society as a triumph for the health and well-being of all workers throughout Orange County and the state of California. Lucky John’s will continue to fight the citation at a pre-trial hearing scheduled for November 30, 2001.
Orange County workers and business owners can be assured that the Smoke-free Workplace Law is still in effect and is fully enforceable within the county and throughout the state. The ruling reinforces the law that California voters passed in 1994. The California Smoke-free Workplace Law prohibits smoking in enclosed businesses and includes bars, taverns and gaming clubs regardless of their staff size.
Since its implementation, public support for the law has only increased. According to a recently released statewide poll, 73 percent of California’s bar patrons approve of the law. This is a 24 percent increase in support from 1998 when 59 percent of the bar patrons approved of the law. In addition, 91 percent of bar patrons said they are either going to bars more often or have not changed their bar-going behavior as a result of this law, a six percent increase from 1998.
Judge McNerney is in good company in making this ruling supporting the Smoke-free Workplace Law. In 1998, a Sacramento Superior Court considered the equal protection claim and found it to be without merit. Statewide legal authorities, including the Office of the California State Attorney General, the California Department of Industrial Relations and the California Legislative Counsel, have all issued concurring opinions that bars with five or fewer employees may not allow indoor smoking.
The Smoke-free Workplace Law was enacted to reduce employee exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, otherwise known as secondhand smoke. Results of a 10-year study, published in a May 1997 issue of Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association, show that constant exposure to environmental tobacco smoke nearly doubles the risk of having a heart attack. Heart disease is the #1 killer of Americans. It has been known since 1986, following a U.S. Surgeon General report, that secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in healthy nonsmokers. Secondhand smoke contains nearly 4,000 chemicals, 200 of which are known poisons. It is now classified by the EPA as a known human carcinogen–unsafe at any level of exposure. In addition, secondhand smoke has higher concentrations of some harmful compounds than the smoke inhaled by the smoker.
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