Staff Report
According to a September news release distributed by New Mexicans Concerned About Tobacco, Albuquerque residents favor passing a city ordinance banning smoking in most public areas including the work place, public buildings and restaurants.
The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung
Association, Multicultural Advocates for Social Change on Tobacco, Fighting
Against Corporate Tobacco and the New Mexico Medical Society have initiated a program designed to "educate area residents about secondhand smoke."
According to the release, the program has reached more than 10,000 people with presentations and other outreach efforts.
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Eighty-three percent of registered voters in the Albuquerque area said that they are concerned about the health effects of secondhand smoke.
The poll was conducted using 503 registered voters in the Albuquerque area with
a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
New Mexico's first clean indoor air ordinance was passed in 1989. No change to the law has been made since that date.
"We now know there is no such thing as a 'smoking section' and designated areas do not provide adequate protection for customers and employees," said Natasha Ning, advocacy manager for the American Heart Association and chairwoman of New Mexicans Concerned About Tobacco.