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Health & Fitness

Legislator Alfreda Williams Helps Mark 10th Anniversary of the Clean Indoor Air Act

White Plains, NY – Westchester Legislator Alfreda Williams (D-Greenburgh) helped mark the 10th anniversary of the Clean Indoor Air Act at a special event held this morning outside the Black Bear Saloon, a popular restaurant and bar here. Williams also accepted a plaque from POW’R Against Tobacco, a, advocacy group, given in recognition of the efforts by the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) in helping to pass the landmark law.

New York State became the second state in the nation, after Delaware, to pass a comprehensive clean indoor air law banning smoking in restaurants, bars and the workplace. Earlier, in March 2003, the BOL had passed similar legislation that was sponsored by NY Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, then a Westchester legislator and who also on hand this morning and recognized for his efforts. Open Door of Westchester, a community health service organization, was also recognized for its anti-smoking initiatives.

“The tenth anniversary of the Clean Indoor Air Act is a success story that has saved countless lives and improved the public health of our nation in ways that are unimaginable and unquantifiable,” said Williams, chair of the BOL Community Services Committee, in her remarks at the event. “Educating the public on the dangers of second-hand smoke and getting this legislation passed were important steps, but too many young people are still getting hooked on cigarettes. We need to work together and continue to protect the health of our residents.

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“The costs—health-wise and financially—to all of us from the effects of second-hand smoke are too much to ignore,” continued Williams. “And we shouldn’t make it easy for our under age kids to get cigarettes and start smoking. We should make it harder.”

Many critics of the law predicted that the restaurant and hospitality industries would suffer and jobs would be lost after its passage, but business has continued apace nonetheless.

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Westchester legislators MaryJane Shimsky (D-Hastings-on-Hudson) and Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining) also attended today’s event.

POW’R Against Tobacco, a community partnership that operates in Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Rockland counties, is, according to its website, “dedicated to reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, and other tobacco related illnesses by lowering the prevalence of tobacco use, advertising, sponsorship, and promotion through education, media, and advocacy.”
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