Supports ‘Take it Outside’

To the editor:

On behalf of the American Lung Association in Alaska, I’d like to thank Valley Residential Services for officially making Century Plaza, home to our Wasilla office, a smoke-free zone and establishing designated smoking areas well away from windows and doors. We believe everyone has the right to breathe smoke-free air. Thanks to this new policy, Valley Residential Services is ensuring that right for all those who work, do business in, or visit, the Century Plaza.

Sadly, only about half of Alaska’s population enjoys that same protection from secondhand smoke in the workplace. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, at least 69 of which are known to cause cancer. Secondhand-smoke exposure kills an estimated 50,000 Americans each year, and nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at work face a 30-percent increased risk of developing heart disease or lung cancer.

Senate Bill 1, the “Take it Outside” bill, would prohibit smoking in all indoor workplaces, thereby protecting all Alaskans from secondhand smoke at work. I urge our Valley delegation to fully support SB 1. It’s time for a smoke-free Alaska, because everyone has the right to breathe smoke-free air!

Becky Stoppa

American Lung Association in Alaska

health education manager Wasilla office