2015 -- H 5804

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LC002050

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING MARCH 5, 2015, TO BE "SMOKE FREE 10 DAY" IN THE STATE OF

RHODE ISLAND

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Handy, Ackerman, McNamara, Tobon, and Ruggiero

     Date Introduced: March 05, 2015

     Referred To: House read and passed

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     WHEREAS, The use of cigarettes and other tobacco products remains the nation's and

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Rhode Island's number one cause of preventable death and disease. Smoking kills more than

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sixteen hundred Rhode Island residents annually, more than all the deaths caused by alcohol,

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AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murder, and suicides combined; and

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     WHEREAS, Cigarette smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals, 69 of which are known to

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cause cancer, and secondhand smoke involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers from other people's

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cigarettes is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a known human (Group

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A) carcinogen; and

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     WHEREAS, According to the American Lung Association, secondhand smoke is

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responsible for approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 (ranging 22,700-69,600) heart

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disease deaths in adult nonsmokers annually in the United States; and

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     WHEREAS, Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at work are at increased risk for

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adverse health effects. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, levels

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of secondhand smoke in restaurants and bars were found to be 2 to 5 times higher than in

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residences with smokers and 2 to 6 times higher than in office workplaces; and

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     WHEREAS, Ten years ago Rhode Island chose health by enacting the 2004 Public

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Health and Workplace Safety Act, banning indoor smoking in bars, restaurants, offices, factories

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and nearly every workplace in the state, encompassing industries where a disproportionate

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percentage of this priority population is likely to work; and

 

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     WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that "studies have

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shown that smoke-free laws that prohibit smoking in public places like bars and restaurants help

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improve the health of workers and the general population"; and

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     WHEREAS, A decade of smoke-free workplaces and public places, together with a high

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state tax on cigarettes and support for smokers to quit, has delivered significant health benefits for

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Rhode Islanders, helping to reduce the adult smoking rate from 23% in 2001 to 17.4% in 2013,

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and the youth smoking rate from 35% in 2001 to 8.1% in 2013, the second lowest in the nation;

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and

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     WHEREAS, A 2012 study from the Rhode Island Department of Health showed that

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hospitalization rates in Rhode Island for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as

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heart attack, dropped 28.4% since 2005, representing a potential savings to the State of over $6

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million; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island helped lead the way nationwide by becoming only the seventh

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state to ban indoor smoking in workplaces and public places in 2004, with 18 other states

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following suit in the following four years, and 30 states now legally designating smoke-free

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indoor areas; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

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Providence Plantations hereby proclaims March 5, 2015 to be "Smoke Free 10 Day" in the State

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of Rhode Island, honoring the tenth anniversary of the enactment of the 2004-2005 Public Health

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and Workplace Safety Act; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Director of the Rhode Island Department of

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Health.

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LC002050

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