(WWJ) A coalition of public health officials, community advocates, and elected leaders will gather this week to formally protest a proposal to reintroduce indoor smoking at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).
The rally, scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 17) at the Dr. LaVonne M. Sheffield Bridge Center (9928 Grand River Ave., Detroit), comes as the Wayne County Airport Authority considers a plan to open a cigar lounge within the McNamara Terminal.
The group, which includes Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell, State Representative Stephanie Young, and representatives from the American Cancer Society, is calling on the Wayne County Executive and airport leadership to halt the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
Advocates argue that the move would jeopardize the health of the airport's 18,000 employees and millions of annual travelers by rolling back decades of progress in smoke-free workplace protections.
Central to the advocates' argument is the significant health risk posed by secondhand cigar smoke.
Organizers noted that a single large cigar can contain as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes, delivering high levels of nicotine and toxins even to those who do not smoke.
While the Airport Authority has previously suggested that modern ventilation could mitigate the impact, health experts like Dr. Sheila Williamson and Dr. Toby Lewis, who are scheduled to speak at the event, maintain that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
In Michigan alone, secondhand smoke exposure is linked to approximately 1,740 deaths among nonsmokers every year, organizers said in a news release, adding:
"THIS IS NOT NORMAL: All but four airports in the country ban indoor smoking. The only way to prevent the negative health effects is to keep Detroit Metro Airport smoke free."
While the Airport Authority has previously suggested that modern ventilation could mitigate the impact, health experts like Dr. Sheila Williamson and Dr. Toby Lewis, who are scheduled to speak at the event, maintain that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
At Tuesday's event, the coalition plans to unveil new polling data and petitions that reportedly show significant public opposition to the cigar bar.
This rally follows months of testimony from workers' rights groups who fear that airport staff, particularly those in the McNamara Terminal, will be forced to choose between their health and their livelihood.
The cigar lounge proposal will be discussed at an Airport Authority board meeting later this month.