From: Joe@smokefree.org
Date: Tue, 12/16/03
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Maryland residents can send a letter of support at www.smokefree.net/MD
Others, go to www.smokefree.net/alerts.php
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Maryland Bids To Become 7th Smokefree Workplace State
Annapolis, 12/16/03... At a news conference in Annapolis (MD) today, two
legislators joined with health groups and bar and restaurant workers to announce
their intention to introduce smokefree workplace legislation.
"It needs to happen now. It needs to happen today," said Delegate Barbara Frush,
who will be introducing legislation in Maryland's House of Delegates.
"People are speaking out and saying, 'We want a clean work environment,'" added
Senator Ida Ruben, who will be introducing legislation in Maryland's State
Senate.
"I work in a bar and restaurant," said Jen Valente, head of Maryland BREATHE
(Bar and Restaurant Employees Advocating Together for a Healthy Environment).
"Our right to breathe clean air is just as important as others. Bar and
restaurant employees are NOT second rate citizens and should not be treated as
such." She urged legislators to "protect all workers, including bar and
restaurant employees, people like me, from the poisons of tobacco smoke."
The fate of Maryland's smokefree workplace proposal is expected to rest largely
with Senate President Mike Miller, who has opposed smokefree workplace
legislation in the past but did not indicate his position today.
"People live and learn," says Joe Cherner, president of SmokeFree Educational
Services, Inc., the nation's largest smokefree advocacy group. "Perhaps Senator
Miller has learned something that he didn't know before. We've seen many
legislators come onboard in recent years when they learn about diseases caused
by tobacco smoke."
If Maryland passes smokefree workplace legislation, it will become the nation's
7th smokefree workplace state joining California, Delaware, New York,
Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts. Other states, such as Florida, Vermont,
and Utah, have passed partial smokefree workplace laws, addressing restaurants
but not bars.
Earlier this year, Montgomery County (Maryland's wealthiest county), passed
comprehensive smokefree workplace legislation. Talbot County (MD) is expected
to join them shortly.
Maryland residents can send a letter of support at www.smokefree.net/MD
Others, go to www.smokefree.net/alerts.php
Joseph W. Cherner
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the
world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
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