Worldwide, more countries are choosing to go smoke-free. Hong Kong, France, Northern Ireland just adopted a new regulation, England's smoke-free law will come into force on July 1st, bans are already in place in Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Bhutan, South Africa, Uganda, New Zealand. Iceland, Finland, Lithuania are next.
It's a case of policy finally catching up to the science: as the smoke-free movement gains in popularity, additional countries feel the pressure to take similar measures. When Ireland went smoke-free in 2004, it inspired policymakers in other countries to consider restrictions too. The thought was, "If the Irish can do it, we can do it".
A recent international treaty is also fueling the trend. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, now signed by 146 member countries of the World Health Organization, went into effect in 2005 and provides protection to citizens from tobacco smoke exposure in workplaces, public transport and indoor public places.
More specifically, Article 8 obligates Parties to take effective steps to provide protection from exposure to tobacco smoke.
The facts to be taken into consideration by the hospitality industry are:
1. Secondhand smoke is a significant health hazard.
2. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
3. There is no safe alternative to 100 percent smoke-free public places and workplaces.
4. Ventilation, air filtration systems and designated smoking areas or rooms do not protect people from secondhand smoke (ASRAE position document, June 2005).
5. All people should be protected from secondhand smoke.
6. All workers have the right to work in smoke-free workplaces.
More and more people are now expecting smoke-free air when they travel, including the in the hotels they choose.
It is to answer consumer demand that several hotel chains have decide to become smokefree in the United States and Canada:
Westin Hotels introduced a 100% smoke-free policy in december 2005, Marriott Hotels in July 2006, Choice Hotels on May 1st 2007, all Disney World Resort Hotels on June 1st 2007.
Given what we know about the dangers of secondhand smoke, those hotel chains have made a socially responsible decision in the best interests of their employees and guests.
Their decision makes good business sense as well.
Indeed smoke-free policies have been shown to increase tourism in cities such as Los Angeles and New York City. The top ten travel destinations in the United States have all enacted smoke-free laws.
We hope the example set by the hotels that already went 100% smoke-free will encourage additional others to follow suit.
As the smoke-free Liverpool campaign has it: why wait?
Failing to act could also have negative legal and financial consequences as employers now know about the risks of secondhand smoke. The concept of "guilty knowledge" could apply and workers (and customers) seek compensation for diseases linked to secondhandsmoke.
On the opposite, policies requiring clean indoor have already improvede public health as demonstrated in studies focused on hospitaliy workers and the community at large.
The main obstacle seems the fear of losing the business of smokers but experience shows that popular support for smoking bans is high (even among smokers as demonstrated -for instance- by their reluctance to travel by train in the sections that used to be reserved for smokers).
Clean air environments are viewed as more conducive to leisure time enjoyment and attract new customers previously kept at bay by the smoky air.
Many studies have shown no negative conomic effect of smoke-free policies on restaurants and bars.
For all those reasons UICC hopes your organization will join our efforts to promote the highest standard of health and protect the right to a healthy environment in travel and tourism via the adoption of 100% smoke-free policies by the hospitality industry.
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