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NEWS SERVICES |
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News Release
| For immediate use |
March 23, 2005 -- No. 121 |
Postcards available online to encourage
ban on smoking in legislative buildings
By DAVID WILLIAMSON
UNC News Services
CHAPEL HILL - To let state representatives know that they would prefer smoke-free environments in the N.C. Legislative Building and Legislative Office Building in Raleigh, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill program is offering health postcards for employees and visitors there.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke Training, Education and Research Program (EnTER) staff at the UNC School of Medicine designed the postcards to advocate for healthier and cleaner state buildings because they have heard repeated concerns about exposure to secondhand smoke, according to Melanie Miller, associate program coordinator.
"Secondhand smoke is responsible for as many as 1,200 deaths in North Carolina every year from heart disease and lung cancer, in addition to causing many illnesses," Miller said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that anyone who has heart disease or risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol should avoid any exposure to secondhand smoke, even for short periods, in enclosed areas, she said.
"Children with asthma visiting the Legislative Building with their classmates are at particularly high risk for breathing secondhand smoke," Miller said.
In January, the N.C. Senate voted overwhelmingly to ban smoking in the Senate chamber, joining the N.C. House in its concern over the effects of smoke on legislators’ health.
In the 2003 legislative session, N.C. Representatives voted to make the house floor smoke-free. EnTER is encouraging legislators to extend the same protections that legislators now enjoy to all visitors and employees, Miller said.
"Clearing the Air" postcards are available online at www.fammed.unc.edu/enter or smokefreenc.org. Anyone interested can print the postcards and send them to representatives. For more information, contact the EnTER Program at (919) 966-8081 or enter@med.unc.edu.
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Note: Miller can be reached at (919) 966-5083.
News Services contact: David Williamson, (919) 962-8596