Since 2005, Central Peninsula Hospital has had a smoke free campus policy. Quite simply, exposure to secondhand smoke is known to cause illness and disease and, as a health care professional, it is my responsibility to make sure that policies are in place to protect employees and patients at our facility from hazards of any kind.

Senate Bill 1and House Bill 328, with bipartisan support, will protect all Alaskan workers from exposure to secondhand smoke and secondhand emissions from electronic smoking devices in the workplace. These bills do not prohibit smokers from being hired, they simply require that users “take it outside” so that others are not exposed to the known toxins in secondhand smoke and aerosol.

It is time for Alaska to join the other 30 states that have passed comprehensive smoke free workplace laws because all workers have the right to breathe smoke free air.