Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Contact: Mary Curtius 703-228-7943 (voice) 703-228-4611(TTY)
Arlington County Offers Smoke-Free Restaurant Guide
Web listing promotes restaurants that have voluntarily eliminated smoking sections
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Arlington County’s Web site now features a list of restaurants that are voluntarily offering patrons and employees a smoke-free environment, Board Chairman J. Walter Tejada announced today.
“As part of our FitArlington Initiative to promote active and healthful living across the County, we are offering this service to residents and visitors,” Tejada said. “We applaud those restaurants that already have gone smoke-free and urge others to take this practical step – it is good for health and good for business.”
Tejada noted that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer all
have designated secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). Secondhand smoke has been designated an occupational carcinogen by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. For more information on the deleterious affects of secondhand smoke, visit the Web site of the Surgeon General of the United States.
The County Web site also offers a down-loadable “Thanks for Being Smoke-Free” card that patrons can leave at restaurants to signal their support for the policy, and another downloadable card that patrons can leave in restaurants that allow smoking, saying the diner would come back more often if the establishment were smoke-free.
About FitArlington:
FitArlington is an initiative launched Jan. 1, 2008 by Arlington County to promote a culture of fitness in Arlington. FitArlington seeks to encourage residents of all ages and abilities to take advantages of the County’s many opportunities to get fit and healthy. The County also seeks FitArlington business partners. To learn more about the initiative and how you can get involved, visit the County Web site.
Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the "10 miles square" parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use, and received the Environmental Protection Agency's highest award for "Smart Growth" in 2002. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world - including the Pentagon - Arlington stands out as one of America's preeminent places to live, visit and do business.