Smokefree air policy

Smoking and Health: a report of the advisory committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service was released in 1964 which clearly stated the health risks associated with tobacco smoking. In 1986, The Surgeon General released The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking. It is estimated that exposure to secondhand smoke results in approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 heart disease deaths each year in the United States. Over the past forty five years numerous reports have been released and numerous policies have been passed regarding tobacco smoking. These policies address issues such as smoke-free air, youth access, tobacco prevention and control spending and cigarette tax. There has been a recent proliferation of policies addressing second hand smoke. In 2002, California and Delaware were the only states that had smokefree public places and workplaces including restaurants and bars. As of January 2007 fifteen states have smokefree workplaces. Several states have enacted policies which are scheduled to go into effect in the future. Thirty-eight states have enacted smokefree or partial smokefree protection policies in their correctional facilities. California has enacted smokefree bans for parks and beaches. Louisiana and Arkansas have recently enacted bans on smoking in cars carrying children with South Carolina, Connecticut and Washington D.C. considering similar bans. Many states have preemptive legislation in place that limits local jurisdiction from enacting restrictions that are more stringent than the state law. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a concise overview of recent smoking policy regarding secondhand smoke.