IMPORTANT NEWS...

DBPR Wants You to Take the Stairs!

Department and others encourage you to use the stairs instead of the elevator as part of a healthy and active lifestyle

May 23, 2007

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Bureau of Elevator Safety is helping promote a healthy lifestyle by encouraging Floridians to use the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator as part of their daily lives. The campaign includes putting stickers on elevator permits that remind people to incorporate physical activity into day-to-day life whenever possible.

“Elevators and escalators have been proven one of the safest ways to transport people, but they can’t offer the benefits that come from a healthy lifestyle involving physical activity,” said Secretary Holly Benson of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. “Periodically taking the stairs instead of the elevator is a simple way to incorporate a little more physical activity into our daily lives.”

Floridians with healthy lifestyles are less likely to develop heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes, which accounted for 65 percent of all deaths in Florida in 2005, according to Florida CHARTS.

“Take the Stairs!” is a partnership with the Florida Department of Health’s “Step Up, Florida!” which also aims to get people of all ages and physical abilities up and active as part of a healthy lifestyle.

“I applaud DBPR for their efforts in creating a healthier Florida,” said DOH Secretary Ana M. Viamonte Ros, M.D., M.P.H. “Healthy habits are an important part of our day-to-day lives, and taking the stairs is an easy way to lead a healthier life.”

The Bureau of Elevator Safety works to ensure that elevators and escalators throughout the State of Florida remain a safe mode of transportation by enforcing elevator safety laws and licensing and regulating industry professionals, elevators, escalators and other vertical and inclined conveyance devices.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) guarantees professionals and businesses are licensed efficiently and regulated fairly, ensuring the health, safely and welfare of consumers.