New group envisions smoke-free Emporia

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By Bobbi Mlynar (Contact)

Friday, April 11, 2008

A new group intent on clearing the air in Emporia made its public debut Thursday evening at the annual Working Women After Hours event at the W.L. White Auditorium.

Clean Air Emporia, organized through a grant under the auspices of Emporians for Drug Awareness, set up a display among a host of other vendors from public and private sectors.

About 1,500 women strolled along the displays, socializing along the way and stopping to see what Clean Air Emporia was all about.

“We feel it’s really important that we are helping people become aware of secondhand smoke, why it is such a public health issue,” said Bobbi Sauder, who is in charge of the group.

Sauder said that she has been pleased with the early responses to Clean Air Emporia’s campaign to educate residents on the health hazards of secondhand smoke, and she is looking for more volunteers to help with the effort.

On Thursday, Sauder and others were handing out lists of area businesses that have no-smoking policies and information sheets detailing the effects of cigarette smoking on the non-smokers around them.

The materials draw on information gathered from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Center for Disease Control, the Surgeon General and a list of other health-related groups.

Secondhand smoke exposes non-smokers to a known cancer-causing agent, according to the information sheet.

That danger cannot be eliminated by ventilation systems or by separating smokers from non-smokers, Sauder said. The health hazards are compounded by dangerous chemical additives the government allows cigarette manufacturers to inject into the tobacco.

“Tobacco is not regulated by the FDA on what they put in there,” Sauder said.

Educating the public about those hazards is the first phase in a campaign that she hopes ultimately will bring a no-smoking ordinance to the city. Other cities in the state already have ordinances that restrict smoking in public places and, Sauder said, Kansas City, Mo., approved a smoking ban this week.

Clean Air Emporia advocates want an ordinance that will include bars, restaurants, and other places where smoking currently is allowed. Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to employees in those businesses, who are exposed to harmful chemicals throughout their workday, she said. According to the material provided by CAE, non-smokers sitting behind a smoker in a bar will breathe in the equivalent of four cigarettes during a 2-hour period; workers in a smoky bar will breathe in the equivalent of 16 cigarettes during an 8-hour work shift.

“The statistics are alarming,” Sauder said.

The group has not yet presented the request for an ordinance to the city. For the time being, CAE is building its base of support and trying to reassure business owners that prohibiting smoking will not hurt business; in some cases, business could improve, the group contends.

 “We’re just educating right now,” Sauder said. “We’re hoping that we’ll have a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance for Emporia. We’re hoping to have no exemptions.”