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4,;4 <br /> 4 Cancer Action <br /> Network- <br /> American <br /> Ago .1,, Soci <br /> Cancer <br /> ety <br /> August 11, 2017 <br /> The Honorable Jerry Thorne <br /> City of Pleasanton <br /> 200 Old Bernal Avenue <br /> Pleasanton, CA <br /> Dear Mayor Thorne and Members of the Pleasanton City Council: <br /> The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is committed to protecting the health and <br /> well-being of the citizens of Pleasanton, and as such, supports the passage and implementation <br /> of smoke-free protections for all multi-unit housing (MUH) residents. No one should have their <br /> health put at risk by the choices of others, including their neighbors, and those risks are the <br /> same, whether housing is rented or owned. <br /> The negative health effects of secondhand smoke exposure are well documented; secondhand <br /> smoke contains at least 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic. The U.S. Surgeon <br /> General has declared that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Even brief <br /> exposure to secondhand smoke can cause serious health effects, especially for the very young, <br /> the elderly, or those who are ill. Smoke-free laws reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and <br /> reduce the incidence of cancer, heart disease, and other conditions caused by exposure to <br /> smoke, as well as prevent the worsening of symptoms among people who already suffer from <br /> those conditions. <br /> The definition of smoking being considered by the City includes marijuana smoke and e- <br /> cigarettes. Marijuana smoke contains many of the same carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, <br /> as well as the same fine particulate matter found in tobacco smoke that can cause heart <br /> attacks. Research has shown that when marijuana is smoked or aerosolized, there is a <br /> significant risk to the user and to those around them. ACS CAN supports prohibiting marijuana <br /> use wherever smoking is prohibited. <br /> Living in MUH requires different standards of behavior due to shared walls and common <br /> spaces. Prohibition of smoking in MUH improves the quality of life, and helps to protect the <br /> health of nonsmoking residents, by preventing the unintentional exposure that many receive as <br /> the result of smoking neighbors. More than 80%of Californians completely prohibit smoking in <br /> their homes, and yet, in MUH, one smoking resident can expose the neighbors in all <br /> American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network <br /> 700 Main Street,Suite 102•Fairfield CA 94533•707.290.0003 <br />