OSHA SETS SAFE LEVELS OF SECONDHAND SMOKE IN THE WORKPLACE

“There are no safe levels of secondhand smoke in the workplace.”

The next time you hear someone say this, tell the speaker he or she is misinformed, flat out wrong or full of crap, depending on your mood and the occasion.  Tell him or her that there, indeed, are safe levels of secondhand smoke as established by no less an authority than the United States Government.  In fact, it was the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration that set the safe air quality standard for secondhand smoke. 

OSHA  has established safe levels (otherwise known as permissible exposure limits or PELs) of secondhand smoke in the workplace and those safe levels are up to 25,000 times higher than are normally found in bars and restaurants.

Let’s take that last statement apart to be sure we understand its component facts.

What’s is a PEL?  PEL stands for permissible exposure limit.  PELs are OSHA safe acceptable levels of exposure to humans for an eight hour day, 40 hours per week time period.  The PEL for nicotine as established by OSHA is .5 mg.

Why measure nicotine?  Why not measure formaldehyde or benzene which are also found in secondhand smoke?  Nicotine is the only unique trace chemical in secondhand smoke.  If you measured for formaldehyde, for example, the carpet and other interior sources of formaldehyde would corrupt the test result.  Besides, formaldehyde is formed naturally in the atmosphere due to photochemical oxidation.  Benzene? Benzene is given off from burning foods in the kitchen or diesel exhaust outdoors so, again, a false reading would be obtained. 

Therefore, nicotine is the ideal chemical to measure to determine secondhand smoke concentrations in the air. 

Actually, you could measure every airborne chemical in secondhand smoke and compare them to OSHA guidelines for each specific chemical and you would find the results to be the same, if not even more dramatic. 

What studies prove air quality standards in the workplace are within the OSHA PEL for secondhand smoke?   There are  many.  For one, Oak Ridge National Laboratory testing confirms that air quality testing of secondhand smoke in bars and restaurants "...concluded that exposures to respirable suspended particulate matter (RSP), for example, were considerably below limits (safer than) established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the workplace....." 

OSHA, itself, says "Field studies of environmental tobacco smoke indicate that under normal conditions, the components in tobacco smoke are diluted below existing Permissible Exposure Levels (PELS) as referenced in the Air Contaminant Standard (29 CFR 1910.1000)...It would be very rare to find a workplace with so much smoking that any individual PEL would be exceeded."

In fact, our claim that ‘OSHA’s safe level of secondhand smoke is up to 25,000 times higher than is normally found in bars and restaurants’ is based primarily on studies by the American Cancer Society.

What the American Cancer Society has proven in conducting air quality testing of secondhand smoke is that secondhand smoke absolutely does not constitute a health hazard justifying a government mandated smoking ban.

The American Cancer Society measured the air quality for secondhand smoke in several venues.  ACS tested by measuring the "marker" chemical in secondhand smoke -nicotine.  The results ranged from 20 -940 nanograms / cu. M.  (A nanogram is 10 (-9) of a gram or 0.000000001 of a gram which is also 0.000001 of a mg (milligram).   OSHA safe level 0.5 mg divided by ACS result 20 nanograms, which is also 0.000020 of a mg. Thus, 0.5 /0.00002 = 25,000 times safer than OSHA regulations.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/pel/standards.html

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9992

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2009/12/secondhand-smoke-is-not-workplace.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/04/bmj-published-air-quality-test-results.html

Provided by International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers



From the current Certified Tobacconist Newsletter- Things are heating up quickly on the legislative front in 2010.  Of immediate concern is the proposed federal tax increase on pipe tobaccos of 775% (HR4439).  Go to the IPCPR Legislative Action Center or PipesMagazine.com to sign the online petition and email your legislators in protest of this tax.

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Please, get off your butts and let your representatives know how you feel!

CIGAR RIGHTS OF AMERICA

10533 Main Street, Fairfax, Virginia  22030, U.S.A.

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

Date: January 28, 2010

Contact: Brian Berman

Phone: (818) 541-1535

Email: info@cigarrights.org

New York’s Professional Tobacconists Organize to Battle Local and State Legislation

Cigar Rights of America Facilitates Formation of New York's First State Tobacconist Association

New York City, New York – In an historic gathering of statewide professional tobacconists, a group of over two dozen retail tobacconists gathered at the Grand Havana Room in New York City to launch the New York Tobacconist Association (NYTA).

With the onslaught of anti-tobacco ordinances and legislation, the coalition of traditional competitors are coming together to combat further intrusion into their businesses, to oppose measures that can impact the product choices of their patrons, to address the cost of both doing business in New York, and the cost of goods to their customers.

As noted by Ron Melendi, General Manager of De La Concha tobacconists of New York City, “It’s time for our voices to be heard. For too long, we have let our representatives pass laws that adversely affect our businesses, and the ability of our customers to enjoy a perfectly legal array of products. It’s time to say enough is enough.” Melendi was named the founding chairman of the NYTA.

The New York effort is being assisted by Cigar Rights of America (CRA) as a national consumer-based organization for cigar enthusiasts. CRA Executive Director Glynn Loope was present at the organizational meeting, stating “Each of these shops represent thousands of customers. Now, they are voters for the cause. We will educate them about how their representatives vote, about the legislation they introduce, and work to halt this Prohibition Era style of policies flowing from New York City to Albany.”

With the recently adopted flavored tobacco ban central to the group’s concern, there will be a comprehensive agenda of issues to be addressed. In addition to the flavored tobacco issue, the group will address fees and taxation, regulatory matters, and any further indoor or outdoor smoking restrictions.

The New York Tobacconist Association elected a charter board of directors, adopted by-laws, and heard a presentation from the firm Gotham Government Relations on lobbying on local and state issues.

The group initiated an ‘open door’ policy that any premium licensed tobacconist in New York can join the group, with a plan for statewide recruitment underway for consumer members joining Cigar Rights of America, and retail tobacconists joining the NYTA.

About Cigar Rights of America

Cigar Rights of America (CRA) was founded on the principle of fighting for the freedom to enjoy premium cigars. A consumer-based, non-profit public advocacy organization that works with local, state and federal governments to protect the freedoms of cigar enthusiasts, CRA works with its constituency of members including manufacturers, retailers and cigar enthusiasts to focus on opposing restrictive smoking bans and increased taxation of cigars. www.CigarRights.org

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_____________________

Brian Berman

Director of Membership

Cigar Rights of America

(818) 541-1535 office

(818) 541-6865 fax

Join Cigar Rights of America to fight for
your freedom to enjoy cigars!

www.CigarRights.org

Brian parent was the winner of our big 250th Show contest.  In this picture he show us what it looks like to be a winner.