Federal agency does not regulate secondhand smoke in workplaces
Jump to full article: Lawrence (KS) Journal-World, 2005-04-13
Author: Chad Lawhorn
Intro: Chuck Magerl thinks supporters of Lawrence's smoking ban are going overboard in their effort to protect bar and restaurant workers from the health risks posed by secondhand cigarette smoke.
Magerl, owner of downtown Lawrence's Free State Brewing Co., 636 Mass., said an important fact had been lost in the controversy surrounding the Lawrence City Commission's decision to ban smoking in virtually all indoor public places. An oft-cited reason for the ban is to protect the health of workers.
But the federal agency that oversees workplace safety issues, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has no regulations that say workers shouldn't be exposed to secondhand smoke.
"What people are really saying in this debate is that we don't want to live by OSHA's rules," Magerl said. "It seems like their battle should be with OSHA, not with the Red Lyon or some other bar in town." . . .
Dr. Steven Bruner, a Lawrence physician and supporter of the ban, said OSHA was controlled by Washington politicians, many of whom receive big campaign contributions from large tobacco companies. Bruner said it was clear OSHA understood the health dangers of secondhand smoke because it proposed tough regulations in 1994.
"They just got beaten down politically," Bruner said. "OSHA did its job. The politicians just didn't back them up." . . .
An OSHA spokesman, who refused to give his name for publication, referred all questions to a 2001 OSHA news release on the subject and a two-page written handout the agency has produced on the issue.
The documents state that OSHA stopped working on regulations after it became clear that local and state efforts were becoming effective in reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, and that the agency's resources "are best directed at other issues."
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