Add our voice to the growing list of South Dakotans who want to see a more comprehensive ban on smoking in public places and worksites.

South Dakota took the first step toward protecting people from secondhand smoke when it passed a clean indoor air law in 2002. But that law has exemptions that permit indoor smoking in any business that has an on-sale alcoholic beverage license or a video lottery license. That means every worker in every bar or casino, as well as many restaurants, can legally be exposed to secondhand smoke at their place of employment.

The debate over whether secondhand smoke is dangerous is over. The Surgeon General recently released a report declaring that the scientific evidence on the health risks associated with secondhand smoke is massive and conclusive. No level of secondhand smoke is safe.

And in no place are the rights of nonsmokers more abused than at worksites like restaurants and bars that allow smoking but don't protect their employees from secondhand smoke.

According to Dr. Rick Holm of the S.D. Public Broadcasting show "On Call," secondhand- smoke exposure is about two times higher in restaurants than in office workplaces and four to six times higher in bars. Studies show that food-service workers have a 50 percent greater risk than the general public of dying from lung cancer, at least in part because of their continuous exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace. This is an occupational hazard that should not occur.

Twenty-two states already have passed statewide smoke-free laws that prohibit smoking in all bars and restaurants.

A few bars and many restaurants in South Dakota have already taken the step to voluntarily ban smoking on their premises for the comfort and enjoyment of their customers.

But a smoking ban must go beyond the free choice of customers and business owners. This is also an issue of public health and workplace safety.

At the very least, workers in the restaurant and alcohol beverage industries should have the right to clean air in the work environment.