Vengeful Husband Sues Ex-Wife for Secondhand Smoke Illness
After 13 years of marriage, a Florida man divorces his wife and sues her, claiming his wife's 2 to 3 pack-a-day smoking habit caused him to contract life-threatening lung cancer in Palm Beach (case id 501997CA01158XXONAN). When the effects of secondhand smoke becomes so bad that a husband is willing to sue his ex-wife, a woman he once loved, people must begin to open their eyes to the dangers and liabilities caused by secondhand tobacco smoke exposure.
Charleston, SC (PRWEB) April 4, 2005 -- Heather Crowe is from Ottawa and has
worked in the restaurant business for over 40 years as a waitress. In 2002, the
Ottawa Citizen reported that she was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer that
she claims was caused by her constant exposure to secondhand smoke as a result
of her working at the restaurant. Heather filed for workers compensation due to
her illness hoping that this would urge lawmakers to enforce stricter codes to
protect workers in the hospitality industry from exposure to secondhand
cigarette smoke. Currently, most state and provincial laws limit smoking areas
to a small percentage of the usable floor space of the hospitality
establishment; however, this does not guarantee workers, or patrons, are
protected from the harmful byproducts of the secondhand smoke.
Everyday,
people in the hospitality industry go to work and are exposed to significant
amounts of secondhand smoke. Restaurant servers, bartenders, and even hotel
employees are forced to stifle their concerns about having to work while being
exposed to a patron’s secondhand smoke for fear of losing their jobs. Secondhand
cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 potential poisons and most are chemicals not
even studied by the FDA. Of those 4,000 toxic chemicals, 69 are known cancer
causing agents. A nonsmoker who works in a smoking environment has a 26%
increased risk of developing lung cancer. Additionally, secondhand smoke
exposure has been linked to esophageal, throat, and mouth cancer and in the
United States alone, over 65,000 deaths a year are linked to secondhand smoke
related illnesses. Due to this dramatic rise in secondhand smoke related deaths
(3,000 deaths just ten years ago) more and more hospitality industry employers
are being held liable for these sicknesses, losing millions of dollars as a
result of these lawsuits.
Many states have implemented non-smoking laws
in most or all public buildings. Other states have enforced stricter building
codes requiring effective air purification or ventilation systems in order to
reduce secondhand smoke exposure. Dr. Craig Donnelly, a smoke eater industry
expert and founder of BPA Air Quality Solutions states, "According to the
Environmental Protection Agency, the 3 best methods for reducing indoor air
pollution are:
1. Source Control: Eliminate or control the sources of
pollution;
2. Ventilation: Dilute and exhaust pollutants through outdoor air
ventilation, and
3. Air Cleaning: Remove pollutants through proven air
cleaning methods.
Source control and ventilation are usually not viable
options because most hospitality establishments do not restrict smoking 100% and
ventilation’ can be extremely expensive due the energy cost associated with
ventilating warm or air conditioned air to the outdoors."
“Air cleaning”,
Dr. Donnelly continues, “is the method of choice for a large percentage of
hospitality businesses using 'smoke eaters', a class of air purifications
products designed to remove smoke particles, odors and toxic gasses from the
indoor air.”
Using the correct smoke air purification equipment in the
hospitality industry will significantly improve the indoor air quality
potentially reducing cancer causing pollutants produced by secondhand
smoke.
“We have noticed that employers who install an effective smoke
eater air cleaning system in their place of business have employees and patrons
who frequently acknowledge the marked improvement with the indoor air quality
and they (employees and patrons) also acknowledge that symptoms associated with
breathing in second hand tobacco smoke such as coughing and irritated eyes are
dramatically reduced” - Dr. Craig Donnely.
For Information: http://www.breathepureair.com or e-mail protected from spam
bots
phone: 1-877-688-2703
About the Author
Dr Craig Donnelly is
founder of BPA Air Quality Solutions / http://www.breathepureair.com. BreathePureAir.com specializes
in indoor air quality solutions such as commercial smoke eaters for commercial
restaurants and businesses. Dr. Donnelly and his staff test, rate and review a
complete selection of commercial smoke eaters from around the world. Available
to the staff are several engineers that can design a smoke eater system specific
to your needs. Since BreathePureAir.com carries the largest selection of
commercial smoke eaters, Dr Donnelly and his staff can give their unbiased
opinion about them. Visit or call toll free today!
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/4/prweb223166.htm