Jump to full article: Gwinnett (GA) Daily Post, 2004-09-16
Author: Camie Young
Intro: LAWRENCEVILLE — Ventilation systems do little to clear the air of second-hand cigarette smoke, a health physicist told members of a committee studying Gwinnett’s smoking ban Wednesday.
J. L. Repace explained that those most at risk from smoking in restaurants are bartenders and waitresses at smoke-filled bars, who can have up to a seven times higher risk of heart problems and cancer. . . .
While two experts testified that ventilation is ineffective in protecting people from second-hand smoke, a consultant who tested the system at Wild Bill’s nightclub in Duluth said that system does the trick.
Less than a year before the county voted to ban smoking in public places, the indoor entertainment hall added a $1 million HVAC system to allow smoking in a portion of the facility.
When owner Bill Gentry applied for an exemption to the ban because of the expensive system, the commission denied his claim but set up a committee to study the ban.
“This facility is probably the best I’ve been in. I stood 2 feet from a table full of smokers, and I didn’t smell a thing,” said Tim Gilbert of HESM and Associates who tested the facility. “There’s always going to be some health risk involved, but some engineering practices can make them reasonably safe.”
Repace called any statistics that support ventilation “propaganda.” . . .
“The best we can do for health outcomes in ventilation is separation,” said Schoen, an active member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. . . .
“There is a certain inevitability to smoking bans being passed,” Lord said. “By allowing exemptions for ventilation, this committee may be opening the door for many of these restaurants, who falsely believe the ban is hurting their business, to install a ventilation system that may be obsolete in six months,” he said. “What I’m trying to prevent is more Wild Bill’s scenarios.”
The engineering society standards recommend walls and sliding doors between smoking and nonsmoking sections, separate ventilation systems and pressurization. Those standards have been adopted by governments nationwide.
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