According to Gerald Chase, Health Officer, highlights of the survey include:

• 82% of registered voters surveyed agree a smoking restriction is needed so children and non-smokers do not have to be exposed to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.
• 87% of registered voters surveyed agree that indoor areas of work sites and public places should be smokefree.
• 92% of registered voters surveyed understand that secondhand smoke can harm people who don’t smoke.

“This is great news for the members of the Tobacco Reduction Coalition,” said Kenyon Stebbins, Ph.D., Chair. “We’ve been working toward a work site tobacco restriction in Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, and Otsego Counties for nearly two years. We’ve thought the “silent majority” of community was on our side. Now, we know it.” Secondhand smoke is the smoke that comes off the lit end of a cigarette. More than 50 chemicals in cigarette smoke contain cancer-causing compounds. In addition to cancer, secondhand smoke causes heart disease and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Serious impacts of secondhand smoke on children include asthma induction and exacerbation, bronchitis and pneumonia, middle ear infection, chronic respiratory symptoms, and low birth weight.

Chase will present a work site tobacco restriction to the Board of Health at their July 20, 2004 meeting in Charlevoix. The restriction, which will include Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, and Otsego Counties, cannot include restaurants and bars due to a State legislative ban. The County Board of Commissioners from Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, and/or Otsego Counties must also approve the restriction for it to be enacted at the county level. Several counties in Michigan have enacted work site tobacco restrictions, including Genessee, Ingham, and Kent. Seven states have enacted workplace tobacco bans.

The Northwest Michigan Community Health Agency is the local health department serving Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, and Otsego Counties. Its staff is dedicated to preventing disease and injury and promoting healthy communities. For additional information about secondhand smoke, the proposed restriction, or the Tobacco Reduction Coalition, telephone Molly Cotant at the health department at (231) 547-7659.