Wayne County Airport Authority RFP Dangers Public Well being, Ignores Public Outcry and Well being Skilled Steerage
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Detroit, MI — Regardless of testimony and practically 100 feedback from public well being and staff’ rights advocates urging the Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) to maintain the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) smokefree, WCAA launched a Request for Proposals for a cigar lounge within the airport’s primary terminal. Now, Individuals for Nonsmokers’ Rights is asking on the WCAA to rescind its RFP and aspect with the 77% of Michiganders who don’t assist a cigar lounge within DTW.
“Opening a cigar lounge in one of many busiest airports within the nation will put airport workers and vacationers in direct contact with secondhand smoke, risking their well being, security, and satisfaction,” mentioned Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Individuals for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR). “Airport staff shouldn’t be pressured to decide on between their wellbeing and a paycheck, and passengers mustn’t need to endure poisonous secondhand smoke through the already nerve-racking and troublesome expertise of air journey. As an alternative of a cigar lounge, the WCAA ought to consider using the house for one thing that vacationers really need — corresponding to seating areas, areas to cost gadgets, and extra meals choices — moderately than a service that solely appeals to a small minority of individuals whereas polluting the air for all.”
Permitting any sort of smoking in DTW would negatively impression the well being of its greater than 18,000 staff and greater than 31 million passengers. Air flow will not be sufficient to include the cigar smoke to an enclosed lounge. Even in nonsmoking areas, research in airports with smoking lounges constantly present elevated ranges of particulate matter (PM2.5), endangering the well being of each vacationers and workers. Moreover, cigar smoke has even larger ranges of tar and cancer-causing substances than cigarettes. When lit, cigars launch high quality particles that may trigger coronary heart and lung illness. Additionally they take longer to smoke, leading to larger publicity to toxins to each the person and people round them. Yearly in Michigan, over 1,740 nonsmokers die due to publicity to secondhand smoke.
Background
Tobacco use and secondhand smoke publicity kills practically 500,000 Individuals yearly. Secondhand smoke places adults who don’t smoke susceptible to coronary coronary heart illness, stroke, and lung most cancers. In response to the CDC, “There isn’t any risk-free stage of secondhand smoke. Even transient publicity could cause instant hurt.”
Research have constantly proven that publicity to secondhand smoke will increase the danger of coronary heart illness, lung most cancers, and respiratory diseases. Latest analysis by the CDC has affirmed that prohibiting smoking all through the whole thing of an institution is the one efficient approach to shield staff from these harms.
Well being and engineering consultants overwhelmingly agree that there isn’t any protected stage of indoor smoking. Even the engineers who design air flow programs have mentioned, “At current, the one technique of successfully eliminating well being dangers related to indoor publicity is to ban smoking exercise… No different engineering approaches, together with present and superior dilution air flow or air cleansing applied sciences, have demonstrated or ought to be relied upon to regulate well being dangers from ETS [environmental tobacco smoke] publicity in areas the place smoking happens…”
The choice to open a cigar lounge in DTW goes in opposition to public opinion and up to date developments. In a latest survey of 600 individuals round Michigan, 77% of respondents mentioned they might not assist a cigar lounge inside DTW. In 2023, DTW was ranked primary in buyer satisfaction amongst mega airports by J.D. Energy — by introducing a cigar lounge, WCAA dangers tarnishing its repute and alienating vacationers, particularly as airports nationwide are eliminating smoking lounges and shifting towards total modernization to boost the passenger expertise. The DTW proposals would additionally go in opposition to latest choices by airport authorities to eradicate smoking lounges from practically all airports throughout the nation. Solely 4 airports nonetheless enable some type of the follow.
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Individuals for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) is a member-supported, non-profit advocacy group that has been working for practically 50 years, since 1976, to guard everybody’s proper to breathe unhazardous air in workplaces and public locations, from workplaces and airplanes to eating places, bars, and casinos. ANR has constantly shined a light-weight on the tobacco business’s interference with sound and life-saving public well being measures and efficiently protected 61% of the inhabitants with native or statewide smokefree office, restaurant, and bar legal guidelines. ANR goals to shut gaps in smokefree protections for staff in all workplaces, together with bars, music venues, casinos, and inns. For extra info, please go to and https://smokefreecasinos.org.
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