LETTERS: June 20, 2008

newsroom@newsandtribune.com

June 19, 2008 04:54 pm

— Workers shouldn’t be exposed to smoke while on the job
We say, hooray! Hooray to the patrons of Clarksville restaurants who have triggered changes in smoking policies at some restaurants.
By refusing to eat in smoking sections, choosing instead to wait for a table in the non-smoking section, these citizens have sent a strong message to restaurant mangers: Most of your customers prefer smoke-free dining.
Again, we say, hooray! Hooray to the restaurateurs who have listened to their customers and who have realized what we’ve been saying all along: Your business will not suffer from going smoke-free. In fact, you may see an increase in business as you will eliminate waiting lines and empty smoking sections and will flip tables more quickly.
These are the “business reasons” cited by the latest group of voluntarily smoke free restaurants.
While we applaud this consumer-driven response, we remain grieved that many workers in Clarksville and surrounding areas continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke while on the job. Why must these workers — our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers — have their health jeopardized while the rest of the business community and our civic leaders wait to respond?
We encourage workers to insist on smoke-free workplaces. We encourage citizens to advocate for workers who are not protected. We encourage citizens to teach business and civic leaders that a healthy workforce equals healthy businesses that, in turn, stimulate the economic health of a community.
We say, hooray to those who are taking a stand, and hooray to those who are responding. To everyone else we say, “What are you waiting for?”
— Andi Hannah, RN, Coordinator, Clark County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalition