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US District Judge Lawrence Kahn rejected the two Syracuse taverns bar owner’s preliminary injunction to stop New York from enforcing its new smoking law “Clean Indoor Air Act.” This has created a great turmoil among the restaurant and bar owners, as they believe that a total ban on smoking will definitely affect their business in terms of profit making. But the state argues that occupational health and safety is of a greater concern than economic prosperity of the bars. Governmental intervention in the US and Canada regarding smoking in public and private work places was initially geared to take precaution against accidental fire hazards.1 But today with the breakthrough in technology medical science has been able to provide the public with adequate awareness of the harm caused by active as well as passive smoking. Cigarette smoking can cause damage to some of the most important organs of the body namely lungs, heart and brain.2 There is a high correlation between cigarette smoking and cancer of the lungs. It is very nerve-racking to find out about the substances that are found in tobacco namely tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, calcium, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, and hydrogen sulphide. The deleterious effects of these substances are proven. Cadmium and benezpyrene causes cancer, and carbon monoxide robs the blood of oxygen.3 It was even intimidating to discover that the concentration of the hazardous substances is higher in sidestream smoke – smoke from the burning non-filtered end of cigarette than the mainstream smoke inhaled by the smokers.3 Research reveal second had smoking kills about 3,000 non-smokers each year from lung cancer.
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