Oregon goes smoke free in three days!
Oregon is finally going smoke free in bars and restaurants. I personally can't wait to go home with clothes that don't smell like smoke and hair that smells like shampoo. The other piece of good news is that workplaces will also be smoke free. Here is the message from our Health Department director, Lillian Shirley:
What are the changes to the law? Smoking will not be allowed in any place that is open to the public or has one or more employees. This means that the following worksites not currently covered by the law will now be required to be smoke-free:
· All bars, taverns, and bar areas of restaurants
· Bowling centers
· Bingo halls
· All employee break rooms
· At least 75% of hotel/motel sleeping rooms
· Work vehicles that are not operated exclusively by one
Smoking will not be allowed outdoors within 10 feet of any entrance, exit, window, air intake vent or accessibility ramp.
Why is this law important? The law protects all of us from secondhand smoke. When legislators passed this law, they were thinking first and foremost of the employees. Oregon’s Smokefree Workplace Law will save thousands of people from illness and death caused by secondhand smoke. The law also helps people to quit. Smokefree Workplace laws make it easier for people to quit smoking when they are ready. They also help people who have quit to stay quit for good. Smokefree workplace laws are good for employees. Employees are healthier and take fewer sick days. Ninety percent of Oregonians, including 77% of smokers agree that indoor smoking should not be allowed in indoor workplaces.
How is the law enforced? Enforcement of the Oregon smokefree workplace law is conducted by Multnomah County Health Department staff. Program staff will assist employers to meet the requirements of the law and respond to reported violations. They use an educational model of enforcement which assumes most people want to comply with the law. Fines for on-going non-compliance are issued by the State of Oregon Department of Human Services in the amount of $500 per day with a maximum of $2000 in a 30-day period. The law is enforced through a complaint-driven process. Employees and the public may report violations of the law by completing an on-line form available at www.healthoregon.org/smokefree or by calling 1-866-621-6107.
What resources are available to help?
People who would like to quit and want cessation resources can call Oregon’s toll free QUIT LINE at 800-QUIT NOW (784-8669) / 1-877-2NO FUME (Spanish) / TTY 1-877-777-6534. Multnomah County employees can access the Multnomah County Wellness Program’s Smoking Cessation Subsidy Plan (503) 988-5015 x. 24319.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the Health Department Chronic Disease Prevention Program at (503) 988-4163.
Posted on December 29, 2008
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Comments
(Note: Comments are the views of their authors, and no one else.)
Posted by: Albert Kaufman - December 29, 2008 11:56 AM
I have been supporting businesses that pre-empted the smoking ban. Ones that waited till the last minute? not so much.
Posted by: Pete - December 30, 2008 05:55 AM
This should've happened at least 2 or 3 years ago. I can hardly wait to be able to go into any bar and find that it isn't full of thick, stinky smoke.
Posted by: ger - December 30, 2008 10:02 AM
Albert's got the right idea. But anti-smoking politics is still classist so I won't be voting for you any more.
Posted by: Magaret - January 14, 2009 12:25 PM
I think you should of left it up to the owners to decide or let the people vote ,not you's to decide .Bars are old school and have been around alot longer than you or I .Hope to god things change around or they'll be alot of people out of work ,because small biss can't meet payments,or are you picking it up (O; not
Posted by: Bruce - February 22, 2009 12:12 AM
Nanny state? It's only the beginning, I can only hope to be around when the government starts controlling these freaks' lives in a fashion they don't appreciate. So I can sneer and laugh at them. Needless to say I'm just a little emotional about this. Land of the free, my @$$.