State and Local Comprehensive Smoke-Free Laws for Worksites, Restaurants, and Bars--United States, 2015

Publication Date: 2016-06-23

• Author:MMWR
• Publication:Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

...Considerable progress has been made at state and local levels in the adoption of comprehensive smoke-free laws in indoor public places over the past two decades. However, even after considering the recent change in smoke-free status in California, state comprehensive smoke-free adoption progress has stalled in recent years (9), and no states in the southeast have a statewide comprehensive smoke-free law. Further, some states without comprehensive smoke-free laws legally prohibit local communities from adopting such laws to protect persons from secondhand smoke exposure. Persisting gaps in smoke-free protections leave large numbers of vulnerable populations exposed to secondhand smoke and could contribute to health disparities (10). Continued efforts to promote implementation of statewide and local comprehensive smoke-free laws are critical to protect nonsmokers from this preventable health hazard in the places they live, work, and gather.