06-01-2004 City Council Study Session PacketCity of Grand Island
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Study Session Packet
City Council:Mayor:
Jay Vavricek
City Administrator:
Gary Greer
City Clerk:
RaNae Edwards
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7:00:00 PM
Council Chambers - City Hall
100 East First Street
Carole Cornelius
Peg Gilbert
Joyce Haase
Margaret Hornady
Robert Meyer
Mitchell Nickerson
Don Pauly
Jackie Pielstick
Scott Walker
Fred Whitesides
City of Grand Island City Council
Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
A - SUBMITTAL OF REQUESTS FOR FUTURE ITEMS
Individuals who have appropriate items for City Council consideration should complete the Request for Future
Agenda Items form located at the Information Booth. If the issue can be handled administratively without Council
action, notification will be provided. If the item is scheduled for a meeting or study session, notification of the date
will be given.
B - RESERVE TIME TO SPEAK ON AGENDA ITEMS
This is an opportunity for individuals wishing to provide input on any of tonight's agenda items to reserve time to
speak. Please come forward, state your name and address, and the Agenda topic on which you will be speaking.
MAYOR COMMUNICATION
This is an opportunity for the Mayor to comment on current events, activities, and issues of interest to the community.
City of Grand Island City Council
Item -1
Discussion Concerning Smoke Free Public Places and Workplaces
in Grand Island
Susan Haeker, Director of Community Health Ministries, St. Francis Medical Center (395-
8272) and Collette Shaughnessy, representatives of Tobacco Free Hall County will be present
for the City Council Study Session to discuss Tobacco Free Hall County.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Study Session
City of Grand Island
Staff Contact: Susan Haeker
City of Grand Island City Council
Tobacco Free Hall County requests the Grand Island City Council prohibit
smoking in public places and workplaces including restaurants and bars in
Grand Island.
· The CDC is now warning people at risk of heart disease to avoid all
buildings and gathering places that allow indoor smoking. ("People at risk"
would include anyone with hypertension, increased cholesterol, previous
heart attack, and/or diabetes). The CDC Advisory said that as little as 30
minutes of exposure can have a serious effect, and wrote that "research
underscores evidence that secondhand smoke rapidly increases the
tendency of blood to clot, which can restrict flow to the heart," and
"strengthens the growing body of research pointing to potentially fast and
acute reactions to secondhand smoke.” 1
· The U.S. Surgeon General has determined that the simple separation of
smokers and nonsmokers within the same air space may reduce, but does
not eliminate, the exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke.2
· The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that secondhand
smoke cannot be reduced to safe levels in businesses by high rates of
ventilation. Air cleaners, which are only capable of filtering the particulate
matter and odors in smoke, do not eliminate the known toxins in
secondhand smoke. 3
· A significant amount of secondhand smoke exposure occurs in the
workplace. Employees who work in smoke-filled businesses suffer a 25-50%
higher risk of heart attack and higher rates of death from cardiovascular
disease and cancer, as well as increased acute respiratory disease and
measurable decrease in lung function. 4
· Smoke-filled workplaces result in higher worker absenteeism due to
respiratory disease, lower productivity, higher cleaning and maintenance
costs, increased health insurance rates, and increased liability claims for
diseases related to exposure to secondhand smoke. 5
· Of all occupational groups, food service workers are the least protected
from secondhand smoke exposure at their workplace. Less than half of the
nation’s 6.6 million food service workers reported having a smokefree place
of employment, compared to over 75% of all white collar workers, including
90% of teachers.6
· All reputable studies have shown that clean indoor air laws either have no
impact or a positive impact on the economic health of businesses within the
hospitality industry. 7
· As of April, 2004, over 1700 communities across the country, from Barrow,
Alaska to Boston, Massachusetts, and from Helena, Montana to El Paso,
Texas have passed local clean indoor air laws protecting workers and the
public from the dangers of secondhand smoke.8
· Enforcement of clean indoor air laws is generally done on a complaint basis,
without the need for active law enforcement. Prior to implementation,
public education about the health effects of secondhand smoke and the
need for a clean indoor air law can help build support for the law and
increase compliance.9
Tobacco Free Hall County recommends a 100% smokefree ordinance which will
(1) protect the public health and welfare by prohibiting smoking in public
places and places of employment; and (2) guarantee the right of nonsmokers
to breathe smokefree air, and recognize that the need to breathe smokefree
air shall have priority over the desire to smoke.
1 British Medical Journal, 2004; 328:980-983 (24 April)
2 “The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking” U.S. Surgeon General, Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 1986
3 "Indoor air facts no. 5: environmental tobacco smoke," Washington, D.C.:EPA, June 1989
4 "Association between exposure to ETS and the development of acute coronary syndromes: the
CARDIO2000 case-control study," Tobacco Control 11(3): 220-225, September 2002.
5 “The high price of cigarette smoking," Business & Health 15(8), Supplement A: 6-9, Aug. 1997
6 “Disparities in Smoke-Free Workplace Policies Among Food Service Workers”, Journal of
Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 46(4):347-356, April 2004
7 "Review of the Quality of Studies on Economic Effects of Smoke-Free Policies on the
Hospitality Industry," Tobacco Control, 2003 12:13-20
8 Americans For Nonsmoker’s Rights, www.no-smoke.org
9 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and
Health, August 1999