Canadian anti-smoking campaigner Heather Crowe says the smoking ban will pay off in the end - for publicans and customers, writes Fiona Tyrrell
Ireland's smoking ban was hailed as a victory for second-class workers in the hospitality industry by Canada's best known anti-smoking campaigner, Heather Crowe, during a visit to Dublin last week.
Heather worked as a waitress for over 40 years in Ottawa. Although she never smoked she was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in 2002 and was given six months to three years to live. Since then she has been campaigning for better laws to protect workers from cigarette smoke. She became the first hospitality worker in Canada to receive workers' compensation in connection with lung cancer acquired from second-hand smoke.
Speaking to The Irish Times she expressed her delight at the introduction of Ireland's smoking ban. Pointing out that working an eight-hour shift in a smoky atmosphere is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes, she said that restaurant and bar staff have been treated as second-class workers. "I don't know why employers feel they can sacrifice the lives of their employees. It is gas chambers that they are sending their workers into."
Referring to claims last week by the Vintners' Federation of Ireland that the smoking ban is seriously hurting rural pub business, she called on the hospitality industry in Ireland to be patient.
Going on the experience of cities in Canada that have gone smoke free, she predicted that these reports of decreased alcohol sales in Ireland would be temporary.
"To the owners of bars I say it's just a matter of time. Things will get better. If they hang in there they will find that rather than letting people go they will be hiring new staff. The only people who will ultimately lose business are the tobacco businesses."
People just don't know that second-hand smoke kills, Heather explained: "If insurers don't even take it into account how can we expect the average person be aware of it."
Working 12 hours a day and six days a week, Heather said that although she was "really exposed" to the dangers of second-hand smoke, she had no idea of the risk she was taking.
She first went to her doctor to get some lumps on the side of her head checked out. She though she had an ear infection. A chest x-ray revealed that she had lung cancer.
Having "never smoked a day in her life", she was very surprised to get this news. A biopsy indicated that she had an advanced form of the cancer. Her doctors told her that her cancer resulted from working for many years in smoke-filled bars and restaurants. "The way the cells were constructed they could tell that it was a smoker's tumour," she explained.
"At this point I was very upset and angry. I wanted to do something to make a difference, to make sure that nobody else dies this way."
The day after her biopsy she was back at work and a regular customer noticed her arm was sore. She told him her story and he in turn told her that he worked for the Tobacco Control branch of Health Canada, which was working on a campaign on second-hand smoke. Heather agreed to participate in the campaign.
Heather also decided to file a claim with the Ontario Workers Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for workers' compensation. On the day that Heather's ad campaign went on air the insurance board announced their decision.
They agreed with her doctors that her cancer was caused by second-hand smoke at work and Heather became the first Canadian to get workers' compensation for her illness.
She was awarded 40,000 Canadian dollars for pain and suffering and C$490 every two weeks.
Now in remission, Heather continues her campaigning and she has travelled to each province in Canada calling for the introduction of smoking bylaws.
In August of 2001 Ottawa became the first city to go smoke-free in Canada by banning smoking in workplaces and public areas. Other cities such Toronto and Winnipeg followed. In Canada, Manitoba will be the first province to go smoke-free in October. Several other provinces are expected to follow, including the Nunavut and Northwest Territories.
She decided against taking a case against the tobacco industry, which has never been done in Canada. She said that her campaign work is about lives and not the money.
"I want to be the last person to die from second-hand smoke at work. I can't take the money with me. I want to take away the tobacco companies' customers. Nobody stood up to the issue of second-hand smoking in the past. If they had I wouldn't be here today.
"It's important for parents to understand that smoking in the car and in the home will affect their children. It is vitally important to make the public aware and give reasons why we need bans and bylaws to protect the health of the public, whether they are customers or workers. I am not asking smokers not to smoke but just to step outside and save a life."