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| Fresher, cleaner air in Charleston |
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Jul 30, 2008 |
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By Jill Coley, The Post and Courier
Smoke-free ordinances in S.C.
Location and start date
Sullivan's Isl. July 20, 2006
Liberty Nov. 9, 2006
Greenville Jan. 1, 2007
Columbia Oct. 1, 2008
Beaufort Co. Dec. 27, 2006
Bluffton Jan. 12, 2007
Charleston July 23, 2007
Aiken County June 1, 2007
Hilton Head Isl. May 1, 2007
Mt. Pleasant Sept. 1, 2007
Surfside Beach Oct. 1, 2007
Clemson July 1, 2008
Walterboro Aug. 1, 2008
Beaufort May 27, 2008
Richland Co. Oct. 1, 2008
Aiken July 14, 2008
N. Augusta Aug. 1, 2008
Camden Sept. 22, 2008
Some might file the results of this study under No Kidding: Air pollution decreased 94 percent in 34 area bars and restaurants after smoking was banned.
Although not surprising, the numbers are striking, said lead researcher Matthew Carpenter, an assistant professor and clinical psychologist at the Medical University of South Carolina who specializes in addictive behaviors and smoking cessation.
Ten venues were surveyed in North Charleston, which does not have a no-smoking ordinance, and particulate levels registered three times the maximum allowable level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Carpenter said.
The study began in 2006, when the researchers analyzed air quality in 23 venues that allowed smoking in Charleston and 11 in Mount Pleasant. The venues were tested again in 2008 after local smoke-free ordinances took effect.
Researchers used a discreet monitor small enough to fit in a purse and stayed in each business for at least 30 minutes. The device draws in air from the surrounding environment and measures pollution.
Business names were not released because the
survey was done without owners' knowledge. The findings were independently reviewed by Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y.
Secondhand smoke is a Class A carcinogen, meaning it is known to cause cancer in humans. Among Americans who have never smoked, about 3,400 die of lung cancer annually; and 35,000 die of heart disease because of secondhand smoke, said Carpenter, who also is a cancer control specialist at MUSC's Hollings Cancer Center.
"This is a huge public health problem," he said. "One way we can address this is through smoke-free ordinances."
Allison Tysinger, lead singer of the band Partymouth, said smoking bans are starting to affect where the band plays. On Tuesday, Tysinger said she was still coughing from a Friday night gig in North Charleston. In May, North Charleston City Council voted against banning smoking in public places.
"It's a major problem for me and my musician friends," she said. "Smoking has directly killed four people in my immediate family. I don't care if you want to kill yourself, but don't take me with you."
David Harvey, general manager of Gene's Haufbrau in West Ashley, said the year-old Charleston ban has not affected business.
"People come in with kids at lunch. They didn't do that before," he said. "We smell cleaner when we leave."
The S.C. African American Tobacco Control Network sponsored the study, paying $2,000 for analysis and $1,000 for food and beverage costs of testers. Carpenter did not receive payment for his work.
"The reason (the network) is concerned is because African-Americans are disproportionately impacted by secondhand smoke," said Dan Carrigan, consultant to the group. "A lot of that exposure occurs on the work site."
In 2006 in Charleston and Mount Pleasant, the average of the fine particulate air pollution in surveyed venues was, respectively, 369 and 118 micrograms per cubic meter. The EPA's maximum daily allowable exposure is 35.
After the smoking bans in those municipalities went into effect, Charleston dropped to 14 and Mount Pleasant to 20.
The restaurants and bars surveyed in North Charleston averaged 186 micrograms per cubic meter in 2006, and 109 in 2008.
Copyright ? 1997 - 2007 the Evening Post Publishing Co. |
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