No Smoking Please

Johns-Manville Corporation made this film, probably in the late 1970s, for its employees; the Health, Safety and Environment Department and Audio-Visual Services produced it. It explains the J-M policy of prohibiting smoking in facilities and not hiring smokers for work with asbestos, and offers counseling to employees and their spouses who want to quit. It gives smoking statistics, uses the lung animation to explain how smoke affects the lungs' defences, and includes cigarette advertisements of the period.

What it says about asbestos and health

It says smoking and asbestos exposure together raise lung cancer risk, giving "a risk of getting lung cancer that is 92 times greater than the nonsmoker", and calls lung cancer the most serious health threat to asbestos workers.

About this copy

Our copy is a transfer of a print from Johns-Manville's own film archive (box 04-03388), shown in full, 11:43 long. Produced by the Johns-Manville Health, Safety and Environment Department and Audio-Visual Services. Made for Johns-Manville employees. Includes cigarette advertisements of the period.

Transcript

A machine transcript of the soundtrack, not yet checked against the film; names and technical words may be wrong.

We used to think smoking was glamorous. Now we know the truth. Smoking is a leading cause of disease in this country. If you started to smoke 10 or 20 years ago, you were doing the in thing. So if you smoke or you have smoked, don't feel guilty about it. But our attitudes have changed now that we have the facts about smoking and health.

Smoking is no longer in. And non-smokers, including more than 20 million who have quit, are beginning to force more and more restraints on smokers. If you smoke, I'm sure you've been encouraged to quit by your family, friends, your doctor, and a lot of strangers. Maybe even badgered. Well, now there's a new twist. Your employer, Johns-Manville, is joining the campaign to encourage you to kick the habit.

Why? Look at these figures. The excess deaths caused by smoking are about equal to the combined deaths from all kinds of infections, all accidents, diabetes, suicide, and homicide. side smokers at all ages are dying at much higher rates than non-smokers from all types of cancer the lung cancer risk is ten times higher for smokers and smokers also have higher rates of death from heart disease strokes emphysema bronchitis and so on if you are 30 years old now and smoke a pack a day your life expectancy is 37 more years and is to age 67 on the other hand the nonsmoker of the same age will live to 73 six more years smoking two packs a day cuts eight years off your life and those life expectancy losses continue regardless of your age it has been medically proven that the death rate from most causes is higher for smokers that's it facts think about everything that's happened in your life in the last eight years and then try to imagine not having that much more time in the future if you smoke facts that's why Johns-Manville has gotten involved not only do smokers have shorter lifespans but But they get sick more often. Everything from bad coughs to more heart attacks. And there's still another important reason. Medical researchers have found that people in certain occupations, where they might be exposed to other materials, face an even greater health risk if they smoke.

For example, people who are occupationally exposed to asbestos and who also smoke have have a risk of getting lung cancer that is 92 times greater than the nonsmoker. The person who does not smoke, even though he's also exposed to asbestos, is at no greater risk of developing lung cancer than any nonsmoker in the general population. If you are exposed to asbestos, you increase your chances of getting lung cancer 92 times by smoking. smoking. That's a fact. This increased risk is not associated only with asbestos. Uranium miners, people exposed to other pollutants, even people with unrelated health problems have a greater risk of disease if they smoke.

One of the reasons smoking promotes other diseases is that cigarette smoke damages the body's natural protection systems. This is is a representation of the lungs most important defensive system. It consists of a sticky mucus carpet resting on the lining cells of the bronchial tubes acting as a protective barrier. It also acts as an escalator system by being constantly propelled upwards on tiny whip-like hairs called cilia. The function of this mucociliary system is to trap inhaled particles and sweep sweep them back up away from the lungs. This moving carpet extends from deep in the lungs to your nasal passages, and it is your body's primary line of defense.

Smoking does two things to damage that system. It changes the mucus carpet, destroying its effectiveness, and it paralyzes the cilia. The total effect is that the system can no longer remove irritants effectively. Smoking also damages another protective system in the lungs. If an invading particle gets past the mucociliary system, it will be subject to attack by tiny cells in the lungs. These cells engulf the particle and make it harmless. us.

But smoking also destroys those cells. It should be easy to see why smokers face a greater risk of disease. With these defensive systems inoperable, the smoker's lungs are subject to a continuous onslaught of irritants. But if you stop smoking, your body will immediately begin to repair the damage. And after some time, these protective systems will once again be doing the job they were supposed to do. So when you put it all together, you understand that even if we could provide the purest of living and working environments for all people, smoking would still be causing disease and death.

And not just for smokers. Studies show that smoking places non-smokers at risk as well. In fact, the gases from a smoking cigarette that get into the air other people are breathing are even more dangerous than the tars, nicotine, and gases a smoker inhales into his own body. J-M is aware of all this. That smoking affects smoker and non-smoker. That smoking can change a safe exposure to a material into a hazardous one.

That the combination of smoking and exposure to asbestos greatly increases health risks. That quitting can lead to repair of damage and a lessening of health risks, and that the increased probability of lung cancer, the most serious health threat to asbestos workers, can be eliminated by keeping those exposed to asbestos from smoking. The company must use all its resources to meet its responsibility of providing a non-hazardous work environment for all people. That's why J-M has instituted a no smoking policy in this entire facility the way J-M sees it this is not an entirely new idea no one would expect a company to keep on the job or hire as a bridge painter a person who had frequent dizzy spells no matter what safety precautions were taken such a person still would be a threat to himself and fellow workers with all the evidence about multiple exposures J-M almost has to eliminate the smoker, the high-risk person, from certain operations. All the technology in the world is not going to protect 100% of the people 100% of the time. Equipment fails.

People forget safety and work procedures. Workers become careless and overlook safety hazards and so on. J-M will not use this program as an excuse to ignore its other responsibilities to provide a safe workplace. Engineering efforts to prevent hazardous exposures are constantly expanding. The industrial hygiene monitoring program is intensifying. The medical surveillance program is growing to include more preventative and early warning procedures. and the company's emphasis on safe work practices will continue to take precedence over production rates J-M is doing everything feasible to protect its employees from any health risk in the workplace prohibiting smoking in this facility is just another step in that direction J-M will not be hiring any person who smokes for work in any operation where asbestos is used smoking will will be prohibited in this and other facilities at all times.

For those who do smoke now, the company is not going to be heartless. We all know quitting is difficult. Therefore, J-M will help provide professional counseling to those who want to kick the habit, to both workers and their spouses. J-M also understands that it can stop smoking on company premises, but it can't stop a person from smoking elsewhere. at home but by prohibiting smoking on the job your body's dose of tar nicotine and gases will be cut by one half or more and in so doing you'll be giving your body a chance to repair some of the damage and you'll be lessening the disease risk a little in addition smokers who are able to cut down on their consumption are the ones who find it easier to quit altogether. J-M wants to look after all of our best interests, your productivity, and the health of you and your family. This is a rather unique program.

No other company of J-M's size and complexity has attempted a similar one. But Johns Barnes-Manville is convinced that its employees are worth every effort.