Northshore Area Restaurants Encouraged to Go Smoke-Free Early – Just for the Health of It!

The Louisiana Smokeout is Friday, November 17th

November 13, 2006, Mandeville, LA As Louisianans count down to the January 1 enactment of the Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act (Act 815), a number of Northshore area restaurants are planning to protect their patrons and employees from health effects of secondhand smoke exposure with voluntary 100% smoke-free policies.

The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL) will host the Louisiana Smokeout to bring special attention to restaurants that go smoke-free on November 17th and encourage others to act early and go smoke-free before the New Year—just for the health of it!

“Why wait until January 1st to go smoke-free? Our customers tell us they prefer to dine in a smoke-free environment, and with TFLs help, going smoke-free is easy, said Byron Badeaux, General Manager of New Orleans Food and Spirits located in Covington. Our employees and customers will be healthier and happier. Its just good business to cater to the majority of the population which does not smoke.

New Orleans Food and Spirits in Covington, Friends Coastal Restaurant in Madisonville, The Pepper Tree in Hammond, and Marias Mexican Restaurant in Bogalusa are among more than 20 restaurants across the state that will go smoke-free November 17th and host a Louisiana Smokeout table featuring a smoke-free prize drawing, giveaways such 1-800-QUIT-NOW chewing gum, Smoke-Free is the Way to Be awareness bracelets and childrens coloring placemats.

The Louisiana Smokeout tables will also provide helpful information to customers and employees about secondhand smoke and the Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act beginning January 1.

Complimentary smoke-free resources such as downloadable no smoking signs, detailed information about the Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act, and information about free cessation programs are available to affected business owners and the general public at www.tobaccofreeliving.org.

For those without internet access, information about the Louisiana Smoke-Free Air act is available through the toll-free number, 1-866-I-AM-4-TFL.

Change is in the air, said Cheryl Klein, Northshore Area Regional Coordinator for the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living. Theres no better time than the present for restaurant and business owners to voluntarily go 100% smoke-free with the assistance of TFL. For business owners who are waiting to make the change, we encourage them to consider the economic and health benefits of others who have already gone smoke-free to protect their customers and employees from exposure to secondhand smoke, a known cancer causing agent, and the fact that the majority 76 percent of Louisianas adults—do not smoke.

The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act, also known as Act 815, will eliminate smoking in most public places and workplaces including restaurants containing bars beginning January 1, 2007. Casa Garcia Mexican Restaurant, DeAngelos, Mandinas Restaurant of New Orleans, Nuvolaris, Sesame Inn, The Juniper, Benjamins Bistro, DiChristinas, New Orleans Food and Spirits, Wilberts BBQ, Friends Coastal Restaurant, Kirin Sushi & Hibachi, Murphys Seafood, Rotolos Pizza, The Pepper Tree, Pauls Old Town Caf, Brewbachers Grill, Binos Seafood, Golden Pear, Long Branch Caf, Ole South, Marias Mexican Restaurant, Stuarts Caf, Caf Bouche, Geralds Steakhouse, Palace Drive In, and Pine Seafood, are just a few of the many restaurants and businesses that are already smoke-free on the Northshore.

In Louisiana, an estimated 650-1,150 people die each year from the effects of exposure to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer and coronary heart disease in nonsmoking adults. In young children, exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.

The Louisiana Smokeout is an extension of the American Cancer Societys annual Great American Smokeout event which aims to encourage smokers to quit for at least one day, in hopes they will quit forever. For more information about the Louisiana Smokeout and The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act, call Cheryl Klein, The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, at 985-871-8353 or visit www.tobaccofreeliving.org.