Colorado Celebrates Two Years of the Clean Indoor Air Act
Interactive Timeline Shows Significant Progress With Smoke-Free Living
DENVER - Two years after taking effect, the Colorado Clean Indoor Air
Act is helping residents and visitors experience significantly healthier
environments. In January, casinos joined the list of public places
included in the smoke-free law, allowing employees and patrons of most
public places to breathe easier with improved air quality.
To mark the two-year anniversary of the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act,
and the vast accomplishments in the movement toward smoke-free
environments in Colorado and around the world, Smoke Free Colorado has
created an embeddable, interactive timeline that can be viewed on the
“Media and PR” page at www.smokefreecolorado.com or at
www.vimeo.com/schenkein. The timeline was designed to be easily
shared on blogs, social networking and other online media Web sites.
Some of the highlights included in the timeline are the results of
several indoor air quality studies. Only two months after casinos went
smoke-free, a study by the State Tobacco Education & Prevention
Partnership, based at the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment, found that the overall air quality in casinos had improved
by 92 percent. The partnership conducted a similar study last year after
the original smoke-free law went into effect and found that air
pollution in hospitality venues, including bars and restaurants, had
improved by nearly 70 percent. The most dramatic improvement was seen in
bars and taverns, where air quality improved by 90 percent. The
significant changes in both casinos and other hospitality venues brought
the EPA ratings for both environments from “unhealthy” to “good”
air quality.
“Coloradans and visitors have been able to enjoy significantly
healthier indoor environments since the smoke-free law went into effect
two years ago,” said R. J. Ours, director of government relations for
the American Cancer Society - Great West Division. “Businesses around
the state have made a commitment to public health, and for that we
encourage everyone to continue to support these hospitality venues.”
Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in Colorado, where
17.9 percent of adults smoke. Smoke-free laws are proving to be an
effective way to improve public health by reducing people’s exposure
to secondhand smoke, which has been shown to be harmful to both adults
and children and causes more than 50,000 deaths per year in the United
States. In fact, the surgeon general issued a report last year that
concludes there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke
and eliminating smoking in indoor places protects everyone from
secondhand smoke exposure.
Colorado offers several resources to smokers who want to quit.
The Colorado Quitline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669), is a free
telephone coaching service that supports smokers through the quitting
process and offers free nicotine patches. Smokers who use the QuitLine
along with the patch are nine times more likely to be successful
compared to those smokers quitting on their own.
Colorado was the 13th state to implement a smoke-free law. As of April
1, 27 states, along with Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., have laws in
effect that require 100 percent smoke-free workplaces and/or restaurants
and/or bars.
Smoke-Free Colorado is a statewide coalition of health and community
organizations including the American Heart Association, American Lung
Association, American Cancer Society, GASP of Colorado (Group to
Alleviate Smoking Pollution), Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention
Alliance and the State Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership.
---30---
State of Colorado,
Department
Home
|
