Evaluation of Louisiana's smoke-free air act: A multi-pronged approach

On January 1, 2007, Louisiana became the nineteenth state to implement a comprehensive smoke-free air law. At least 16 other states are currently considering enacting similar legislation. Louisiana's new law prohibits smoking in most public places and workplaces, including all restaurants with or without attached bars. Smoking will still be allowed in stand-alone bars and casinos. To evaluate the impact of the law, while at the same time preparing for potential challenges to it, The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living designed a multi-pronged approach to assess public awareness of and support for the law, compliance with the law, the economic impact of the law, and the law's impact on indoor air quality.

The multi-pronged evaluation design includes:

• a statewide public opinion poll conducted both before and after implementation of the law; • questions about public awareness of and support for the law added to the state's Adult Tobacco Survey; • observational compliance data collected from bars and restaurants throughout the state; • an economic impact study using innovative techniques to control for the confounding factors that resulted from 2005 hurricanes; and • an air quality monitoring study conducted at bars and restaurants throughout the state, both before and after implementation.

The presentation will give an in-depth description of the evaluation design, present lessons learned during the evaluation process, and report preliminary findings.