Introduces Bill to Ban Smoking Around Federal Buildings

Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel has introduced the Healthy Air for Federal Workers Act (H.R. 4105), a measure which essentially bans smoking within 25 feet of federal buildings. This legislation was appropriately unveiled during the same week as the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smoke Out, and during National Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

The bill is designed to protect federal workers, along with visitors to federal buildings, from second-hand smoke. According to the Surgeon General, secondhand smoke causes disease and premature death in both children and adults, even in those that do not smoke. H.R. 4105 would prohibit smoking in any area outside of a federal building which is within 25 feet of any of its entrances, exits, windows that open, or ventilation intakes.

“The Surgeon General reported in 2006 that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. One step we can take in limiting such exposure is to free the entrances of buildings of the clouds of smoke often found when smokers gather outside of entrances and exits. The problem with this is simple – how else are people going to avoid secondhand smoke when the only ways in and out of a building is blocked by smoke?” asked Rep. Engel, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.

“This is common sense legislation and I am pleased to be able to have it timed to coincide with the Great American Smoke Out – which has helped countless people kick this deadly habit,” said Rep. Engel. “In addition, this is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and having known far too many people who have lost loved ones to lung cancer, I am looking for every way possible to make sure fewer and fewer people are put at risk for this disease.”

The Great American Smoke Out has been taking place for over 30 years, and its purpose is to set aside a day to help smokers quit smoking, for at least one day, with the hope that they will quit completely. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2009 there have been 219,440 new lung cancer cases and 159,390 reported deaths from the disease. The American Lung Association states there are generally 1.2 million new cases annually worldwide.