Motivating Bars to Go Smokefree in Advance of the Law

In June 2007, the Oregon Legislature expanded the Smokefree Workplace Law to include bars and other workplaces. The law does not take effect until Jan. 1, 2009, however, presenting a tremendous opportunity for education and outreach to prepare for the law, encourage businesses to go smokefree early and motivate smokers to quit. Although these businesses will eventually be required to be smokefree, motivating them to switch early shows the business community that smokefree is good for business, reinforces to legislators that the law was the right thing to do, and reduces the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

The Oregon Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP) launched the “Why Wait” campaign in late 2007 to reach business owners contemplating going smokefree, and to encourage smokers, particularly employees and patrons of affected businesses, to use the upcoming law as a reason to quit smoking. The campaign uses a tightly integrated combination of paid media, earned media, direct outreach to business owners, mobilization of people who influence business decisions (employees, customers, community leaders), support for smokers who want to quit, and public celebrations of smokefree spaces. The result is a coordinated effort that leads to short-term business operations/policy shift and long-term social norms shift as smokefree places multiply.

By looking at this campaign in late 2008, we have a unique opportunity to examine successes and challenges, giving other states working on smokefree workplace laws a current case study of how to engage businesses in voluntary policy change, advocacy and policy compliance.