Jump to full article: WeHo News.com, 2010-01-11
Author: WeHo News Staff, West Hollywood
Intro: Half a dozen LA County municipalities have banned smoking near their outdoor dining facilities, with a few banning it from publicly-owned property - sidewalks, medians etc. - across their city entire.
All did so citing public health concerns, but none did so based on scientific evidence that second hand smoke (SHS) near an outdoor area poses a health risk, because no such peer reviewed study existed.
The first scientific study on detecting outdoor second hand smoke levels, published by University of Georgia Athens (UGA) researchers in November, 2009, found increased levels of SHS in their subjects, but not levels considered to be risky.
The Athens-Clarke, Georgia, County Commission sought to extend their 2004/5 indoor smoking bans to outdoor areas in late 2009.
By chance, UGA happens to contain a world class environmental health sciences department that works alongside the United Nation's World Health Organization (WHO) to study indoor smoke and other contaminants around the world.
Environmental health science professor Luke Naeher told WeHo News that he conducted the study (in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene November 2009) because of the indoor ban - he wondered if allowing it in outdoor areas simply moved the risks associated with SHS in employees outdoors. . . .
After hearing the science, Athens-Clarke officials said they have no plans to revive talk of an outdoor smoking ban.
According to the Athens Banner Herald, "the county commission and the state legislature both considered extending the ban to 25 feet outside doorways but abandoned the idea.
"County commissioners," they wrote, "said they would either not support an outdoor ban or are waiting for more evidence before tackling the issue.
Jump to full article » |