AMA calls for smoking ban 'any place people work'
Plus, WHO won't hire smokers
The American Medical Association (AMA) has passed a resolution calling for smoking to be banned in all workplaces in the United States, pledging to actively support local, state, and national legislation and to pursue new regulations banning smoking in all workplaces.
Prior to this recent resolution, the AMA supported physicians and state medical societies as they pushed for smoke-free public places and businesses. The new resolution expands the AMA's campaign to cut smoking by banning cigarettes anywhere people work.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO), based in Geneva, has stopped hiring smokers entirely as part of its commitment to controlling tobacco use. WHO has taken a very public lead in the fight against tobacco use, spokesman Iain Simpson says, and as a matter of principle, WHO does not want to recruit smokers.
As of Dec. 1, 2005, vacancy notices include a line stating that the UN health agency does not promote tobacco use or recruit smokers. Applicants are asked if they smoke or use other tobacco products, and if they answer yes, the application process is terminated.
Current WHO employees who already smoke will not be penalized, and outdoor smoking areas on agency premises will remain for the time being. WHO encourages staff who smoke or use tobacco to quit, and has several measures in place to help.
The actions by the AMA and WHO indicate a harder line on tobacco being taken by the health care and prevention community. According to the AMA, tobacco use is a major preventable cause of death in the world, killing nearly 5 million people annually.
The AMA's resolution came after a group of AMA members proposed a lobbying campaign to have smoking banned completely in hotel bars and restaurants. AMA delegates decided to put more muscle behind the resolution and called for a ban on smoking anywhere others are working.
WHO tries to encourage people to try and lead a healthy life, and wanted to align its own employment practices with its principles, says spokesperson Fadela Chaib.
"The bottom line is that the diseases and deaths caused by exposure to secondhand smoke are preventable, and the only proven method to protect people from the hazards of secondhand smoke is to ban smoking indoors in all workplaces," says AMA trustee Ron Davis, MD.
The AMA resolution is available at www.ama-assn.org.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has passed a resolution calling for smoking to be banned in all workplaces in the United States.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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