http://wabe.org/post/surgeon-general-calls-out-atlanta-airport-s-smoking-lounges
The U.S. Surgeon General has called on the city of Atlanta to make Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport completely smoke-free.
Currently, smoking is allowed in designated smoking lounges in each of the airport’s terminals.
A tweet, posted by Dr. Vivek Murthy, shows him standing in front of an airport smoking lounge sign. His face is stoic. His thumb points down. The tweet reads:”#MadMen ended, and this should, too. World’s busiest airport can be its healthiest. Make #ATL airport tobacco-free!”
Atlanta’s airport has at least one designated smoking lounge in each of its seven terminals. In the early 1990s, cigarette maker Philip Morris gave the city $250,000 to construct the rooms. The city is responsible for maintaining the lounges – including their ventilation systems.
But a CDC report found those systems do not eliminate second-hand-smoke exposure.
Georgia’s 10-year-old indoor smoking ban carries an exclusion for international airports.
An airport representative was unavailable for comment.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Reed says he’ll take the tweet under consideration.