Eliminating smoke-free air preemption to achieve national health objectives: Methods and progress toward Healthy People 2010

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and illness in the United States. The establishment of smoke-free environments is a proven method for reducing tobacco use and reducing exposure to secondhand smoke.

Local communities can, and often do, impose more stringent smoking restrictions than state laws. Local communities may also protect the public health by enacting a smoking ordinance when the state legislature does not take action or when the state law offers limited protections.

However, preemptive language in a state smoke-free air law prohibits local communities from enacting smoke-free ordinances that differ from the state law. With preemption, the state law effectively becomes the ceiling – not the floor – and prohibits local communities from continuing to establish and enforce smoke-free air protections that build upon the state law. The tobacco industry supports the inclusion of preemption in state laws to avoid having to combat anti-smoking efforts on the local level. The elimination of preemption laws is a Healthy People 2010 national health objective.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System, as of January 1, 2009, 13 states have laws that preempt communities from enacting smoke-free air laws in public places.

Strategies used to reverse preemption vary depending on the state. In addition to providing an overview of the current status of preemption in the U.S., this presentation will offer select case-studies from the 10 states that since 1995 have used differing legislative and legal methods to eliminate preemption.