February 12, 2004
For more info, contact Joe@smokefree.org
B.R.E.A.T.H.E.
Bar and Restaurant Employees Advocating Together for
a Healthy (smokefree) Environment
Rocita G:
For 12
years, I worked as a waitress in smoky restaurant/bars. I needed the job to support myself and put
food on my table. I would go home
from work everyday with a headache from the smoke. The smoke clung to my clothes, hair, and
skin. The worst part was when I would
cough up black mucous. One day I was
working and I felt something pop in my lungs.
I went to the doctor. He told me
I had lung cancer and only 2 to 4 years to live. When I walk 3 blocks, I’m out of breath. I’ve never smoked in my life. I’m only 37 years old.
Heather
C: I’ve been a waitress for 40
years to earn a decent living for my daughter and myself. The air where I worked was blue from the
smoke. My doctor told me I have a
smoker’s tumor and I’m dying. I never
smoked a day in my life. I never smoked.
John S: I am a bartender. Our environment is often reduced to a single room with no space to maneuver away from the toxic clouds of smoke. There is no ventilation system in the world that will work against smoke blown two feet away from your face.
Suzanne H: I
worked as a cocktail waitress in smoky restaurants and bars for 14 years. I have onset emphysema. My doctor says my constant exposure to
tobacco smoke contributed significantly to my emphysema. No one should have to breathe tobacco smoke
to hold a job.
Jackie W: I am choking from excessive secondhand smoke and my clothes and hair are permeated with the putrid smell of cigarettes. This is particularly disturbing for me as I am pregnant. Exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy is known to cause serious risks to the survival and health of a baby. This is not fair. Others’ choice to smoke is infringing on my right to work in a healthy environment.
Matinah P:
I have been a bartender at a restaurant for the past two years. During the course of working there, I
discovered that I was two months pregnant.
I immediately stopped working, but my unborn child had been exposed to
two months of smoke. I have never smoked
a day in my life and I only pray that this does not have a negative effect on
my baby.
Courtney S: I am a 22 year-old bartender. I don't think it is fair that I have to
suffer because some people think that it is a "personal freedom" to
blow poisons in other people's faces.
The solution really is simple, don't let that happen.
Silina H: I am a working pregnant mom. Unfortunately I work in an environment that
allows smoking. I would love to see that
changed! I like my job but dread going
to work and coming home to my husband and child smelling like I've been in a
bar all day. I mean good gracious my car
smells like a smoke bomb and I don't smoke!
Tammara P:
I have been working in
bars for about 10 years now and have had the misfortune of several trips to the
health clinic for tobacco related illnesses. No one should have to breathe in toxic fumes
for eight/plus hours a day!
Athena R: As a college student, I have worked in
restaurants/bars out of necessity to earn money. I had to work in order to pay the bills. I urge you to please support smokefree
workplaces. Secondhand smoke is
dangerous, and we need to protect all people's health equally.
Tiffany A: I
have been working in bars and restaurants for over eight years. This has been the only type of job that I
have been able to work while attending college full-time. I have graduated
college and continue to work full-time in a restaurant so that I can afford my
school loan repayment bills while trying to break into my field of study. I choose to work this kind of job for the
money to support myself, but I do not choose to be punished. I want to make a change for the better for
the health of all bar and restaurant customers and employees.
Mike F: I am a bartender.
I am not trying to take
away anyone’s right to smoke. You have
the right to make yourself sick, but you should not have the right to make me
sick.
Dena G:
As a former
bartender and waitress, I would leave work coughing up mucus and barely able to
breath--all of which was caused by secondhand smoke. Many bartenders, like I
was, are unable to leave the bar area to escape the smoke. Therefore, for up to
8 hours a day, bartenders are breathing in these noxious chemicals.
Tyrone S: I am a musician. It's time for musicians and bartenders and
waitresses to have dignified and safe working conditions.
Joannie C: One
of my daughters is working here way through college as a waitress in a
restaurant in
John
B: My wife went to work as a bartender at the local yacht club
private bar while I took care of our children. The smoking there was incredible, and each
night she'd arrive home with headaches from the smoke. It is horrible that anyone should have to be subjected to
another person's smoke while they are earning a living.
Carolyn V: I worked in nightclubs for
years and finally had to quit working and even going out to them socially
because I developed asthma. People
working to put money on the table shouldn't have to get sick to hold a job.
Diane Q:
My friend was a bartender
who didn't smoke. He died of pancreatic
cancer. The number one cause of
pancreatic cancer is smoking and/or secondhand smoke.
David B: I used to be a musician, playing in smokey
clubs. It was AWFUL, but there was nothing I could do about it. Please help move forward -- OUT OF THE SMOKE
AGES. NOBODY should have to breathe
other peoples' carcinogens in order to do their job.
Larry R: I am a working musician for over fifty years
and I can't begin to give you the substance of my personal experience of
observing how the breathing of tobacco smoke affects your health working in a
smoking environment. It is
abominable. The tobacco industry has
deliberately misinformed the public about the inclusion of chemicals in their
products and the life threatening implications of smoking.
Kim G: I worked in restaurants throughout high
school and college. I was forced to be
in a smokey envoronment night after night. I am now an oncology social worker
and see first hand how horrific the effects of lung cancer are on women. Please pass the smoke-free workplace law.
Anna K: As a bartender this issue directly affects me
and my health. I am asking for your support of
smokefree legislation.
Thom K: I am a long time survivor with HIV (17+
yrs). I have worked in the
restaurant/hotel/bar industry most of my adult life as I need a part time job
to supplement my income. Bartending allows
me to work a minimal amount of hours and earn the extra income. People say to me, well it's your choice if
you work there. Yes it is, so why must I
be subjected to second hand smoke.
Sophie M: In my previous job I worked in a restaurant waiting
tables and bartending. While we had a nonsmoking section for patrons (with
questionable effectiveness), there was no nonsmoking section for workers. If a restaurant or bar were found to have
damaging levels of asbestos or radon, it would surely be closed as a public
health risk. Why don't we treat
secondhand smoke, which is filled with deadly carcinogens, the same way?
Jamie G:
I am a young singer and musician with asthma. Working in a place filled with smoke is almost
impossible. I used to play in bars, restaurants and clubs and would come home
feeling like I had bronchitis with a horrible cold. I would lose my voice for several days. The
physical demands of singing necessitate optimal health and that includes
staying away from smoking or smoky environments. Allowing people to smoke in these places is
hindering my career and keeping a talent from being heard.
Hadassah H: I work at a local bar and I love my job,
but I detest the fact that I am continually exposed to second-hand cigarette
smoke against my will. It is easy to say, "Get another job", but the
service industry is one of the better paying jobs in our community.
Brittany
L: For nine years I worked in
restaurants and bars to support tuition bills. On an average 8 hour shift, I was forced to
breath in the secondhand smoke equivalent of a half pack of cigarettes. I am a believer in the right to work in a
smoke-free environment.
David F: I am a former dishwasher, waiter, and bartender. I started working when I was 13 washing dishes in a bar and grill. I continued working in the restaurant/bar business as a waiter and bartender up until I graduated from college. The jobs were ideal. They allowed me to work at night, while pursuing my education during the day. All workers deserve a safe, healthy, smokefree work environment. No one should have to risk his health to hold a job.
Deanne
B: My son works in a restaurant. He comes home smelling of smoke and coughing
from that environment and hates it! All
workers should be able to not breathe other people's nauseating tobacco smoke
in their workplace.
Joyce H: I am the mother of a college age student who works to help herself through college. She has asthma and has to work in this smoke filled environment. Please sign a bill and make life better for all of us.
Lee H: I
have given serious consideration to taking on a part time job bartending to
supplement my base income. I have all but ruled out this option, which is
otherwise very desirable, due to the increased health risks from secondhand
smoke
Jenna M: My
husband loves his job as a brewmaster of a local brewpub BUT cannot work with
the smoke ANYMORE. We are looking for a
new job for him because of the severe health conditions he has had to endure
with daily secondhand smoke. This establishment is a family restaurant and No
ONE should have to endure smoke while working!
I urge you to pass the law for clean air inside ALL establishments before
more people become ill. Secondhand smoke
DOES CAUSE CANCER!
Juliana J: For many years, I have worked in smoky restaurant and bar settings as a cook, waitress, and musician. I believe that ALL deserve a safe, healthy, smoke free work environment. I know FIRST HAND that second hand smoke is hurting workers’ health.
Madeline R: I I had to quit a high-paying job years ago because of smoke in the workplace. I symnpathize with anyone who is forced to work in such an environment. This unhelathful practice should not be allowed to continue.
Jill H: I work in five different restaurants. Two years ago my owner-operator decided to make his operations smoke-free! I used to go home with terrible headaches, sinus problems and an overall feeling of illness. I didn't realize it was due to the second hand smoke I was inhaling all day, until it wasn't there any more. I can't believe legislators wouldn't want to protect the people that have put them into office.
Richard L: My
daughter works in a restaurant and already suffers from breathing difficulties.
Needless exposure to someone else's smoke is very hazardous to her health. Please get rid of smoke in the workplace
making life a little better for everybody.
Adam S: I work bartending 4 days a week and I am disgusted with the amount of smoke I am constantly enveloped in. PLEASE stop the smoking for the benefit of EVERYONE!!!!
David F: I have been a food and beverage professional for over 30
years, managing private clubs and restaurants.
I feel I have the right to a healthy work environment. I shouldn’t have to de-smoke myself every
time I work or go out.
Mollie M: I am a full time female student who
bartends to pay rent and living expenses. When I started bartending I
found out what it is like to be a chain smoker - secondhand. I was a
professional dancer before I chose to go to school. My stamina has been badly
effected by working as a bartender! I cough a lot and simply climbing
stairs gets me winded and the coughing and headaches effect my concentration in
classes. It is very important for every single worker to have a smokefree
environment. No one should spend a day recovering from their job.
Jacqueline M: When I worked in restaurants I was disgusted by the odor in my cloths and feeling in my lungs when I would return home after my shift. I have also known people who have died of lung cancer as a direct result of smoking. With the realization that second-hand smoke is a deadly toxin, I am amazed that there is even a question of continuing to allow workers and patrons to suffer and risk their health for the mere inconveniencing of a smoker's addiction. Thank you for recognizing the importance of supporting a safe and healthy work place for all.
Emmett I:
I am a bartender. My girlfriend is also a bartender.
Second-hand smoke has badly affected her health and mine. Both of us now
are constantly coughing. We can't go on working in these conditions, but
what can we do? Bartending jobs are incredibly scarce, and that's all either of
us know how to do! She has to put herself through school, and only has certain
nights she can work. I have been tending bar for five years, full time. To try
to find a new profession now would be financial suicide.
Stephen S: I am a bartender
and professional actor working in restaurants and bars for the last six
years. My job is ideal because it allows me to work at night, making the
necessary money I need to sustain myself in this city, and pursue my acting
career during the day. I have a right, personally, as do all
restaurant/bar/club workers, to work in a safe, smoke free environment.
When I committed to my job, I committed to selling food and drinks, not to
being exposed to cancer causing smoke.
Nancy K: I've worked in several restaurants
and bars. It's not fair to ask the
people working at a job to breath in foul, polluted air. You just can't waive away a person's
health. Nothing makes up for that.
Dylan C: My employer always
looked at me like I had 6 heads when I'd tell them about the unsafe air quality
at my job. Their reply was, "You work in a bar!" So I should
die? I can remember turning blue gasping
for air, trying to hold my breath as I ran through the room with trays of
cocktails. Philip Morris is one of our
biggest clients, hell, we can't tell them not or where to smoke. Again swallow
it. I would come home in tears. I went to see an Occupational Environmental
Hazard doctor. I was diagnosed with Occupational Asthma. Since then, I wolf
down inhalers, bronchodilators, steroids.
I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. This is my reward for 6 hard
worked years in a bar. The law really
should be about the right to breathe and NOT the right to smoke.
Catherine D: I am a
working jazz singer - a career I've trained and worked hard for. I'm doing it with the best, have
international record distribution and radio play. I have asthma and singing in these smoky
restaurants, clubs and bars is significantly detrimental to my health and, once
the asthma kicks in in these workplaces, my ability to perform my work at my
best. I would greatly appreciate the
opportunity to pursue my profession and my career in the same smokefree work
environment afforded to so many other New Yorkers. I'm not asking for anything they don't
already have and I think I deserve to have a smokefree workplace as much as
these other New Yorkers do.
Nathan B: I often wonder if
I will be doing the right thing by returning to work at the Millennium Hilton.
On 9/11 my workplace was destroyed and God willing I will be able to return to
work this coming January. I just wanted
to let you know how not working in a smoke filled bar every day has affected my
health. Since the Hilton has closed my health improvements have been
dramatic. I wonder about the damage that
was caused to my lungs from breathing smoke filled air every day. I had chronic asthma. Not just the kind that you
see people with an inhaler but the kind that puts you in the hospital and jeopardizes
your life. During one attack I lost consciousness in the emergency room and
fortunately was revived without any lasting effects from oxygen deprivation.
Until 9/11 I had been taking daily steroids for my lung condition along with
corti-steroids for allergies. I need to
work; I feel that my rights to enjoy a safe & healthy work environment are
being violated. There is no reason not to protect my health.
Jeremy B: I am a
bartender.
Adam S: I have worked as a bartender for years. I
am a non-smoker, but I can feel the secondhand smoke effect my health. Please support smokefree workplace
legislation for the better health of all of us.
Katharine E: As a professional
singer I am frequently finding my personal and professional health compromised
by other peoples' use of cigarettes.
There is NO compromise that will eliminate second-hand smoke from
invading the lungs of non-smokers if smokers are allowed to smoke in public
venues. This is unfortunate, but clearly true.
Joe W: I worked in
college to support myself as a bartender in college clubs and bars for five
years. Every year, I would come down with pneumonia, upper-respiratory-tract
infections, and would catch a colds at least three times a year. I was out of
breathe, could not play sports, and had terrible headaches from my customers’
cigarette smoke. It has been over 10 years since I worked in a bar
and I rarely catch a cold and have never had another upper-respiratory-track
infections. I am 15 years older and my health is better than when I was
younger, because I was not forced to smoke other people's smoke.
Dennis
S: I
have had to work as a Bartender and waiter before. I developed a cough, flem,
and know that it damaged my lungs.
Please help. Don't use the excuse "but they don't have to work
there" ...we do. People who work in
bars deserve the same rights to a safe, smokefree workplace as everyone else.
Linda A: My husband and I
own a restaurant. My three children work
with us and we have 12 employees. The decision to have a smoke free NYC
should be one that focuses on the HEALTH of its workers not on the wealth of
the tobacco companies. We all deserve to have the best chance of a long
life with our families.
Eddie S: I worked for many
years in a smoky bar and put up with the tremendous health hazards because of
financial necessity. Luckily I am no longer in that position. Others are.
Any attempt to pass a watered down version of the proposed bill will only serve
to endanger the health of workers who because of financial necessity are forced
to take jobs in these hazardous environments.
Rare F: Why should we have
to work in a smoky environment while politicians and others enjoy the
comforts of clean air? Should we die to make a living? Think of our
constant aggravation of burning eyes, struggling to breathe and that awful
taste in the mouth. Is this what is called double standard?
Jeffrey B: Having previously
worked in restaurants and bars for years, I can unequivocally say that the
discomfort experienced by the average non-smoking customer in these
establishments is nothing compared to the unexplainable persistent cough,
headache, burning sinuses and irritated eyes that workers can experience after
long periods of exposure to smoke-filled workspaces.
Anita F: I work in a casino. The worst
part of my job is the smoke. Some players blow it in my face deliberately when
they lose, others are just thoughtless. At times I literally choke just to keep
my job. I work with the hope of securing my retirement. My fear is that I won't
live long enough to reap the rewards of my labor.
Barbara L: After 9 years of a successful and lucrative career as a musician, I was forced to give it all up due to chronic respiratory infections and bronchitis that I suffered from over years of breathing secondhand smoke in nightclubs and restaurants where I worked. This was a career I trained for my entire life. I have never smoked myself, yet I have developed asthma from breathing in secondhand smoke on the job
Tracey
P: As
a former waitress and hostess of several popular restaurants, I urge you to
support legislation for a "smoke-free" environment. For all of the
years I HAD to do it, I felt sick and exhausted and at times angry and
depressed about even having to put myself in such a situation. I was literally
sick every night going home, not to mention everything I owned smelled like
poison. And that is exactly what it is - Poison.
Mary S: I work for a wonderful family, but they still allow smoking in the break room in their business. In order for me to use the ladies room, I must go through the break room. This is a dangerous situation, especially if you have to take your breaks in this room. Everyone deserves to breathe clean air while working.
Lisa B: When I was young I worked in a
bar. At my physical checkup time, my doctor said to "quit
smoking" because my lungs didn't look good. Well, I didn't smoke! I may
still come down with a smoke related illness in my lifetime from those jobs
which paid my way through nursing school. I had no choice but to work in places
to afford a decent college.
Evan D: I was forced to
give up lucrative work in the entertainment field due to inability/lack of
desire to breathe other's toxins, (second hand cigarette smoke). I
strongly favor smokefree workplace legislation.
Patricia A: I have been a
smoker for nearly ten years. Moreover, I have worked in restaurants and bars
filled with smoke. My own smoking habits disgust me. And what I loathe the most
is that I am inflicting pain on people around me. I'll gladly give up
smoking in bars, and so will other smokers. It's worth it.
Alison J: I have been a bartender in a nightclub for
several years. Unfortunately I have
suffered many negative consequences. At
the end of a shift, my eyes are itchy, my skin is crawling, and I am
congested. It takes a full day to
recover. However, I need a job that is
flexible, because I am also a local singer and performer. I've heard a lot of people argue if
bartenders don't like the smoke, they can do something else, but it's not that
simple. It's not about people's right to
smoke; it's about people's right to breathe.
Richard T: Am I a bad person because I am a waiter and bartender? What did I do that is so wrong that I must decide between having a decent paying job that I enjoy and substantially increasing my risk of cancer and lung disease? All I want is the same right to a safe, smokefree workplace that millions of other workers enjoy. People who work in bars, restaurants, and nightclubs are good people. We deserve a safe, healthy, smokefree workplace too.
Sage B:
I am a waiter/bartender who has held jobs in restaurants for 14
years. I am highly resentful of
secondhand smoke and feel people should not have that right to affect others
with their addictions.
Cynthia H: I am an actor and work at temp jobs and restaurants when I'm not in a show. I suffer health issues from other people's smoke, such as sinus problems, soar throat, and headaches. Being trapped in a bar all night to make money is a miserable experience. It affects my health and my quality of performance as an actor.
Donna M: I was a waitress for many years while my babies were young, and then as a single parent I became a bartender to earn extra money at night. It became necessary for me to quit working, because I was sick all the time from the second-hand smoke.
Bill Moriarity (president of Local 802 ‑ Associated Musicians of Greater
Ken W: As a small club
entertainer I have been deprived of employment because my body cannot tolerate
smoke. Why do other workers deserve a
smokefree workplace and not me?
Gregory N: I should have the right to work in a
cancer-free environment. According to
the NYC Department of Health, the average bartender breathes the equivalent of
half a pack of cigarettes a night.
Richard W: At age forty two and employed full-time as a
bartender at one of
James D: I have been a bartender for 17 years. I love my job, mostly because I love people
and the freedom my job offers. The only
thing I hate is the smoke. Cigarettes
kill, period. Why are people permitted
to kill me?
Timmy C: I'm a singer and musician who plays frequently in restaurants and bars. I care about my health and think it's dangerous and unfair that I should have to be subjected to a risk of cancer and heart disease just to ply my trade.
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