occupational health and safety

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 b...