"Airport smoking criticized"

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Airport smoking criticized
Atlanta's practice of providing special rooms is not enough to mitigate
risk, study says
By KIRSTEN TAGAMI, DAVID WAHLBERG
The Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution


Airports such as Atlanta's that have smoking areas are putting the health of
travelers and workers at risk, according to a federal report released
Wednesday, near the peak of the holiday season.

Most of the nation's small airports ban smoking, but most large hubs let
people light up. Hartsfield-Jackson International, which has doorless
smoking rooms, was cited as one of the worst contributors to secondhand
smoke.
 
More than eight out of 10 non-hub airports ban smoking anywhere indoors. But
of the 31 largest airports, which account for 70 percent of passengers, only
13 forbid lighting up.

"We're not doing a good enough job of protecting travelers and, especially,
employees at our airports," said Eric Pevzner, a behavioral scientist at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, whose study was released by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nearly 2 million people fly daily, and 2 million more work at airports, the
report said. At facilities that allow smoking, those people are increasing
their risk of cancer and heart disease, Pevzner said.

Even 30 minutes of exposure can be harmful, he said. "There's no known level
at which exposure to secondhand smoke is safe," Pevzner said.

Today is expected to be the busiest travel day of the year at the Atlanta
airport, with 287,615 passengers expected.

Hartsfield-Jackson allows smoking in two bars and 12 rooms that use "air
curtains" instead of doors to keep smoke inside. But Pevzner called them
"ficticious, with no science to it," saying they allow smoke to seep out.

Tobacco giant Philip Morris Cos. subsidized construction of the glassed-in
smoking rooms about 10 years ago.

The Atlanta City Council has pondered a smoking ban for the past year, but
exempted the airport in drafts of the legislation.

Airport chief Ben DeCosta said Wednesday that he has considered a smoking
ban at Hartsfield-Jackson but decided it was better to have designated rooms
than have smokers "sneak around" and light up anyway.

Cigarettes are addictive, he said, and "people are going to smoke."

TOP AIRPORTS' SMOKE RULES 
Smoking policies at the 10 busiest airports: 

. 1. Hartsfield-Jackson - Yes, allowed in 12 smoking lounges and two bars 

. 2. Chicago O'Hare - Yes, allowed in lounges 

. 3. Los Angeles - No 

. 4. Dallas-Fort Worth - No 

. 5. Denver - Yes, designated areas 

. 6. Phoenix Sky Harbor - Yes, designated areas 

. 7. Las Vegas McCarran - Yes, designated areas 

. 8. George Bush International, Houston - No 

. 9. Minneapolis-St. Paul - No 

. 10. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County - Yes, but only in one bar 

Source: May 2004 survey by Americans for Nonsmokers Rights


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************