Durbin, Collins Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Make The VA Smoke-Free
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today reintroduced bipartisan legislation to prohibit smoking at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. The legislation would repeal an antiquated 1992 law that requires the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to furnish and maintain designated indoor or outdoor smoking areas. The bill would bring VA in line with smoke-free policies across the federal government and in the private health care system.
“No one should be exposed to secondhand smoke, let alone our veterans when they’re attending a doctor’s appointment,” said Durbin. “We should do everything we can to support the health and well-being of our veterans, and this bipartisan legislation will protect veterans from the deadly consequences of tobacco use and secondhand smoke.”
“The focus of VA hospitals should be promoting the health and well-being of the veterans they care for,” said Collins. “By making VA facilities across the country entirely smoke-free, this bipartisan bill would further protect the health of veterans who rely on the VA for care. Veterans have made countless sacrifices serving our country, and we must do all that we can to ensure that they receive the quality health care they have earned.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States—killing more than 480,000 people annually—and there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. As such, the overwhelming majority of America’s private health care systems and facilities, most Department of Defense medical facilities, and all federal government buildings are smoke-free. Yet until 2019, there were nearly 1,000 designated indoor or outdoor smoking spaces at VHA facilities across the country—at least one in every state. In addition to the health concerns, such spaces are difficult to maintain and cost the VA more than $1.2 million annually.
According to the VA, only 20 percent of veterans enrolled in the VA health care system are smokers. In 2019, the VA rightly determined that continuing to provide smoke areas on VHA property was not sustainable, and issued VHA Directive 1085 to institute a smoke-free policy beginning October 1, 2019. However, Congressional action is still necessary to repeal the 1992 law and codify VA efforts.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, this effort would not impact spending and would save the VA money in the long run.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) is a cosponsor of the legislation.
Today’s legislation is supported by the American Lung Association, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, IntelliQuit, Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD), the Society forCardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, North American Quitline Consortium, Parents Against Vaping, Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, and the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA).
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