As Americans we are very fortunate to expect safe, clean water and food to eat and drink. We expect to be protected from dangerous hazards at work. Yet, in Indianapolis, we still allow some of our workers to be exposed to secondhand smoke, even though it has been proven in countless reputable studies to be harmful and even deadly.

According to the National Cancer Institute, 53,000 annual deaths in the U.S. are attributable to secondhand smoke, not even counting asthma episodes or the other health problems caused by secondhand smoke.

If this is a “freedom” issue, what about the freedom of the 78 percent of adult nonsmokers to breathe clean air? Why should waitresses, cooks, bartenders and musicians risk exposure to a toxic substance while those who work in offices are protected?

All reputable studies (not funded by the tobacco industry) 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.

Indianapolis must pass a comprehensive smoke free/indoor air-quality ordinance; the lives of many Hoosiers depend on it.

Doug Stafford

Executive director, American

Lung Association in Indiana

Indianapolis