This year, the legislature has an opportunity to pass a law that will save money and save lives. Senate Bill 1, introduced by Senator Micciche and House Bill 328, introduced by Senator Talerico, will protect all Alaska workers from exposure to secondhand smoke and secondhand aerosol from e-cigarettes in their workplaces.
Since 1980, all Hutchings facilities have been smokefree. As a business owner, I know that it is my responsibility to make sure that the work environment is safe for both my employees and for our customers. It was an easy decision for us, and it was a reasonable compromise to simply ask people to “take it outside” instead of subjecting non-users to other people’s smoke.
Since we went smokefree in 1980, we have learned much more about the diseases and illnesses either caused by, or exacerbated by, secondhand smoke. It is the right thing to do to make sure that EVERY worker has a safe and healthy work environment by passing SB1 and HB328.
