FAQ
Q: Do the people want smoke free workplaces?
A: Smoke free workplaces are an idea whose time has come. Nearly half of all Americans and one-third of South Carolinians are now protected by comprehensive smoke free workplace laws.
- There are currently 41 local smoke free workplace ordinances in South Carolina. This includes five counties and 33 cities and towns. The list includes Horry County’s very own Surfside Beach as well as other tourism centers such as Charleston, Hilton Head, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Mount Pleasant, Beaufort, Beaufort County and Edisto Beach.
- In fact, when you travel either in state or out of state, smoke free environments are now the norm. Today’s travelling public actually expects smoke free environments.
- Smoke free workplaces are something the public wants and is what Horry County workers deserve. A few years ago, a statewide poll showed that 70% of S.C. voters favored a local law that would prohibit smoking in all indoor workplaces including offices, restaurants and bars.
- 83% of S.C. voters believe secondhand smoke is a health hazard.
- In nearby Florence County, surveys have shown incredible support for smoke free workplaces, well above 80%.
- The people want smoke free workplaces, and we believe everyone deserves to breathe smoke free air.
- Click here to see 100% smokefree restaurants.
There are currently 41 local smoke-free ordinances in South Carolina.
- 95% of the respondents believe secondhand smoke causes health problems.
- 99% of the respondents everyone deserves to breathe smoke-free air at work.
- 84% of the respondents strongly support prohibiting smoking in all indoor workplaces, including restaurants and bars.
- 83% of S.C. voters believe secondhand smoke is a health hazard.
- Nearly 3,000 Horry County residents have signed a petition that states: "I believe secondhand smoke is harmful and I support the elimination of secondhand smoke from all indoor public spaces and workplaces in Horry County."
Q: How are you going to get smoke free public policies passed?
A: Our goal is to first educate Horry County residents, workers and visitors on the dangers of secondhand smoke. The Surgeon General has repeatedly said there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
- We are getting very enthusiastic feedback for the Smoke Free Horry campaign. The people want smoke free workplaces. They want to know why this hasn’t been done already.
- The people are the change agents.
Q: What would you tell the smokers and the businesses who believe smokers are important to their business?
A: The results of all credible peer-reviewed studies show that smoke free policies and regulations do not have a negative impact on business revenues.
- Further, the 38 smoke free ordinances in South Carolina only prohibit smoking INSIDE workplaces. They do not “outlaw” smoking but instead require smoking outside.
- From a tourism standpoint, the majority of Grand Strand visitors live in places that also have smoke free laws, including our primary feeder markets of North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
- Establishing smoke free workplaces is the simplest and most cost effective way to improve worker and business health (Surgeon General, 2006), with no negative impact on revenue.
In a scientific telephone survey of 1,226 Horry County residents:
- 74% of the respondents think it is more important having customers and employees breathe clean air in restaurants and bars over allowing smokers to smoke inside restaurants and bars
- When asked, "If Horry County...restaurants and bars go smoke-free, would you go out to restaurants and bars more often, less often, or about the same as you do now?" The number of respondents who said they would go out more often was 3 times more than those who said less often.
Q: What cities and towns are most important to this effort?
A: All Horry County residents, workers and visitors deserve to breathe smoke free air. We are working on a county wide public education campaign on the dangers of secondhand smoke.
- Our ultimate goal is to see that all workers in Horry are protected from secondhand smoke exposure.
- We believe citizens and visitors to all our municipalities deserve to breathe smoke free air.
Q: Is there opposition to a Smoke Free Horry County?
A: This is about public and worker health. The overwhelming majority of people want smoke free workplaces.
- Why can’t we just let businesses decide if they want to allow smoking or not? This is a worker health issue. While customers can pick and choose places they patronize, employees don’t have that luxury.
- All people, whether they work in office buildings or bars and restaurants, deserve to breathe smoke free air while at work. The Surgeon General has said that, “Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults.” In the difficult economic times we live in, people don’t always have a choice when finding a job.
- Restaurant and bar employees deserve a smoke free workplace just as much as people who work in offices, retail stores and other settings and should not be forced to quit their jobs to protect themselves from secondhand smoke.
Q: Why not just wait for the state legislature to pass a statewide law?
A: We do not believe a comprehensive statewide smoke free workplace law will pass at the state level soon enough to project workers who are currently at risk. South Carolina’s real achievement on the smoke free issue has been at the local level, where elected officials are acting to protect their constituents against the dangers of secondhand smoke.
- It took the state legislature more than 10 years to enact meaningful tobacco control legislation that raised South Carolina’s cigarette tax out of last place in the nation, despite overwhelming support from the public.
- South Carolina is, however, moving in the right direction. Since the Surgeon General’s landmark 2006 finding that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure, five counties and 33 municipalities have adopted smoke free workplace ordinances. In fact, our state was recently recognized as the national leader in passing comprehensive smoke free local laws when it was named the 2008 and 2009 winner of the Americans for Nonsmoker's Rights Smoke Free Air Challenge Award.
Q: How will ordinances be executed and administered? Are police going to be spending their time with this?
A: Smoke free ordinances are largely self-enforcing. All businesses will post “no smoking” signs to the entrance of their buildings. People respect the law.
Q: How will the distance requirements noted in ordinances be known and enforced? Why are we talking about no smoking outside, too?
A: Distances are set to keep smoke from blowing back into buildings where people are working – people will be able to assess where they should not be standing while smoking if they are unsure of the exact distance from doorways.
Q: How do I get involved?
A: Click here to sign the petition and join us today.
Q: How are you going to get some free public policies passed?
A: We Shall Provail. Join us Today.
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The Last Stand - Part 1