The INDEPENDENT, June 1, 2006
Page 13
New television ads on health hazards of secondhand smoke
Two new television ads in-
tended to heighten public
awareness about the health
hazards of secondhand smoke
in the workplace, especially
bars, were launched last week
across the state.
Public health officials in the
Oregon Department of Human
Services (DHS) said the 60-
second ads use real-life stories
to demonstrate that repeated
exposure
to
secondhand
smoke can cause illness and
death.
“Secondhand smoke is a se-
rious health hazard,” said Mel
Kohn, M.D., state epidemiolo-
gist in DHS. “It contains 43 can-
cer-causing chemicals and can
be directly linked to lung cancer
and heart disease.
"More than 35,000 Oregoni-
ans work in places not covered
by Oregon’s Indoor Clean Air
Act,” Kohn said. “These work-
ers, mostly employed in bars,
continue to be exposed to dan-
gerous levels of secondhand
smoke.”
To save the expense of cre-
ating advertisements, DHS pur-
chased the rights to air the new
ads, which were produced
elsewhere, from a resource
bank at the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Preven-
tion. DHS then focus-tested the
ads in Oregon to make sure the
messages would work for Ore-
gonians.
The ads, which will run
statewide on major television
stations through this summer
and fall, tell about two non-
smokers who were victims of
deadly illness due to second-
hand smoke exposure at work.
One ad features a middle-
aged woman named Heather
Crowe who supported herself
and her daughter as a waitress
for 40 years. Crowe tells view-
ers that the air where she
worked was blue from cigarette
smoke. Although she never
smoked a day in her life, Crowe
is now dying of lung cancer
caused by secondhand smoke.
The other ad is narrated by
Trish Dulka, the daughter of a
54-year-old man who died of
lung cancer after working in a
smoke-filled environment for 10
years. Sitting at a work desk,
Dulka talks about how much
secondhand smoke he inhaled
over the years, which is illus-
trated by an equivalent number
of cigarettes piling up around
her.
Kohn said studies show that
non-smokers who are exposed
to secondhand smoke are 20
percent to 30 percent more
likely to develop lung cancer.
Secondhand smoke can also
increase the risk of heart dis-
ease among non-smokers by
as much as 60 percent. In addi-
tion, workers who are exposed
to secondhand smoke can also
develop chronic respiratory ill-
ness, Kohn said.
The ads are part of the
state’s tobacco prevention and
education program, a compre-
hensive effort to reduce Ore-
gonian’s use of tobacco and
exposure
to
secondhand
smoke. It is funded by a tobac-
co tax increase approved by
voters in 1996, which allocated
a portion of new revenues for
tobacco use reduction. Since
the program began, Oregon
has experienced a 42 percent
decline in per capita consump-
tion of cigarettes.
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer,
General Manager
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
This
issue
will cov-
er a fac-
tor
in
o u r
power
costs,
called
line loss, which may become a
topic of conversation for the
next month or so. Each utility
has a certain amount of line
loss, which is the difference be-
tween the number of kilowatt
hours we purchase and the
number of kilowatt hours we
sell. Typical reasons for line
loss include simple dissipation
over long distances, resistance
(impedance) at the transform-
ers, and loose connections
which occur for all utilities. Av-
erage standard line loss in the
industry is between 3 to 7 per-
cent. Anything over 7 percent is
cause for concern. Ours here at
WOEC is at 9 percent, an item
of some concern. Where does
the other 2 percent of kilowatt
hours we purchase go that we
are not collecting revenue for?
We are currently conducting an
audit, using a certified meter
tech, of all of our three phase
meters and have just discov-
ered two problems that have
been adding to our line loss.
The first of the two problems
discovered in our audit, is that
a few of the meters have been
found to have their shunts in
the open position instead of the
closed position, meaning the
meters are not registering the
full amount of kilowatt hours ac-
tually being used. The shunts
are normally closed unless the
meter is being worked on or
serviced. After the work or serv-
icing, the shunts should have
been closed and, for unknown
reasons, they were not closed.
The second problem has to
do with an incorrect multiplier
or no multiplier being applied to
the account. What this means
is that a meter on a three phase
or two phase account meas-
ures kilowatt hours in 5 amp in-
crements. For example, a 200
amp service would use a multi-
plier of 40 for each kilowatt
hour used, (1 kilowatt hour rev-
olution = 5 amps so 200 amp
meter divided by 5 amp = 40 for
the multiplier). We have discov-
ered several accounts where
the multiplier was never added
to the billing system so they
have not been accurately billed
for the actual usage.
I know it sounds a little com-
plicated because it is, but this is
the simplest way I can explain
the problems. It really comes
down to several accounts that
were not being billed for the full
amount of usage. Now that we
know about the problem, we
have a fiduciary responsibility
to correct the problem and bill
them for the full amount going
forward. Our audit will continue
until we have checked all of the
three phase accounts, which
are a high priority for us. We
have implemented steps to
make sure the problems are
not repeated in the future.
Next issue will cover system
maintenance costs and debt
load and their impact on rates.
Airplane Rides,
Refreshments
Model Airplane Displays
Hamburgers, Cold Drinks
Antique Cars
June 11, 2006
1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Mike Seager’s Hangar
Vernonia Airport
Come out and support your local airport! Mike Seager 503-429-5103