
Students for a Smoke-Free Sierra Valley College


To the Administration: Tolerance of tobacco and the ignorance of smoking on campus is contradicting the school's commitment to a healthy learning environment. Smoking on campus has created a civil nuisance pursuant to California Civil Code 3479 and 3480, since smoking exposes others to harmful chemicals as defined in Health and Safety Code 118880 and 118920. Each violation of the code sections mentioned above also constitute violations of Business and Professions Code section 17200, since they are unlawful business acts or practices. Sections 17200 authorize the District Attorney to bring a civil action for injunctive relief, restitution, and the assessment of civil penalties up to $2,500.00 for each such act or practice. Penalties for violating 6404.5 are the following: First violation - fine up to $100 Second violation - fine up to $200 Third and subsequent violations - fine up to $500 Cal-OSHA (California Occupational Safety and Health Administration) may also become involved in cases against business owners and can levy fines up to $70,000. There is concrete evidence that smoking and secondhand smoke causes life-threatening diseases. About 53,000 Americans die each year from diseases caused by secondhand smoke exposure. We, the undersigned, ask the staff and administrators to plan, implement, and execute a reasonable non-smoking policy. We are not telling anyone they can't smoke; We just don't want to be forced to inhale known carcinogenic toxins. Make our campus smoke free. We the undersigned,
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