Key Findings
Smokefree Air
View the State Rankings for Smokefree Air
Cigarettes don’t just harm the people who smoke—they also harm the people around those smokers. Secondhand smoke causes or exacerbates a wide range of adverse health effects.
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| I:Incomplete. On November 26, 2003, the massachusetts legislature enacted a comprehensive, smoke-free workplace law. The law will be sent to Governor Tomney for signature in early January. |
Secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals: 200 are poisons; 69 cause cancer. In June 2002, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization concluded that secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and other health problems. The IARC classified secondhand
smoke as a cancer-causing agent in humans.14
Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children because they breathe more air than adults and their bodies are still developing. Babies and toddlers are at increased risk—secondhand smoke can contribute to the development of pneumonia, ear infections, bronchitis, coughing, wheezing and increased mucus production in healthy children less than 18 months of age.15
Children with asthma are especially at risk from exposure to secondhand smoke. The EPA estimates that exposure to secondhand smoke worsens the conditions of between 200,000 and one million children who have asthma.16
In 1997, the California Environmental Protection Agency estimated that secondhand smoke caused approximately 35,000 to 62,000 deaths from heart disease in nonsmokers each year.17 The workplace is the primary source of secondhand smoke exposure for adult non-smokers in the United States.18 Restaurant workers are at particular risk. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), food service workers
rank last among the Census Bureau’s list of major occupation groups in terms
of worksite smoking policy coverage.19
According to NCI data, people of color have high rates of occupational exposure to secondhand smoke. Latinos and Native Americans have the highest rates of occupational exposure to secondhand smoke. 20 High rates of occupational exposure to secondhand smoke stem in part from the fact that people of color are disproportionately employed in food service, laborer and factory jobs that have the highest rate of exposure to secondhand smoke.21
Comprehensive workplace smoking laws have been effective in not only reducing exposure to secondhand smoke but in increasing the number of people who quit and in discouraging kids from starting to smoke. The NCI found that being employed in a workplace where smoking is banned is associated with a reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked per day and an increase in the success rate of smokers who are attempting to quit. 22
Policy Goals
The American Lung Association:
Bright Spots
A groundswell of support for comprehensive smokefree workplace legislation has risen as a result of Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Oklahoma and New York passing or expanding smokefree workplace laws.
For years, California was the only state that prohibited smoking in virtually every indoor public place, including bars and restaurants. Then, in 2002, Delaware passed a similar law banning smoking in restaurants and bars. Delaware’s new law was groundbreaking and helped prove that comprehensive smokefree air laws were not just a California phenomenon. In addition, major cities like New York and Boston strengthened their comprehensive smokefree ordinances by banning smoking in bars.
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States with Strong Smokefree Air Laws |
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1. Delaware
2. California
3. New York
4. Connecticut
5. Maine
6. Florida
7. Maryland
8. Utah
9. Vermont |
In March 2003, shortly after New York City’s workplace ban went into effect, legislators in Albany, NY passed a statewide law that included fewer exceptions. Connecticut followed suit, banning smoking in most workplaces. Soon after, Maine expanded its smokefree air law to include bars and taverns. Florida’s legislation to implement its constitutional amendment banning smoking in most workplaces, excluding bars, became effective in July. Oklahoma passed an extensive smokefree air law, the first Plains State to pass such a law. In late December the Massachusetts legislature passed a comprehensive smokefree air law. It will be sent to Governor Romney for signature in early January. And finally, Alabama passed a law to regulate smoking in some public places, the last state in the country to do so!
Communities in several states have local ordinances that help clear the air. Over 80 percent of the population of Hawaii is covered by local ordinances. Recently Lexington, KY and Fayetteville, AR passed local smokefree workplace ordinances, a first for both states.
Work To Do
Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia received an F. That translates to millions of Americans still exposed to secondhand smoke in restaurants, workplaces and other public places. The American Lung Association is concerned with the health of everyone. Everyone has the right to breathe clean, smokefree air in public places.
Citizens in every region across the country have come to expect smokefree environments. This report shows how far behind too many states are in protecting public health and responding to this public demand.
Looking Ahead
More and more people around the country are demanding smokefree air in the places where they work, play and socialize. The success of smokefree air laws in the eastern part of the United States will begin to spread across the country. Cities such as Chicago, St. Louis and Washington, DC currently are considering smokefree workplace ordinances.
Key Findings Continued... |
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