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American Lung Association Hails Decision to Snuff Out Smoking in U.S. Senate Lounges 

Statement of Bernadette A. Toomey, President and CEO

WASHINGTON, May 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On behalf of the American Lung Association, I commend Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) for their successful efforts to prohibit smoking in all public places in the Senate. For too long, Senators, staff and visitors to the Senate Office Buildings have been exposed to secondhand smoke. We also thank Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Robert Bennett (R-UT), the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules, for their leadership in supporting and implementing this important public health measure.

While we recognize today's announcement as a critical step in the right direction, the American Lung Association also urges the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives to make the entire U.S. Capitol complex smokefree. Ironically, many Senators and House Members are prohibited from smoking in worksites and public places while in their states and districts--but they are still allowed to smoke in personal and committee offices on Capitol Hill. Smoking is also still permitted in two locations in House office buildings. No one should be exposed to secondhand smoke as a condition of employment.

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