141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

282041
An evaluation of the influence of local anti-smoking ordinances

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Jennifer Lepard, DrPH, MPA, CPH , Center for the Advancement of Wellness, Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma City, OK
Background: Although anti-tobacco advocates and policymakers experienced great success in advancing indoor smoking restrictions at the local level in the 1990s, tobacco policy researchers during this period were hesitant to encourage similar policies regulating indoor smoking at the state level. In the absence of a successful experience with implementing local ordinances and the grassroots support they would generate, researchers feared that any attempt at statewide legislation would be weakened by powerful tobacco interests and, in many cases, preempt strong local ordinances.

Methods: This study used data from the Americans for Nonsmokers Rights on local ordinances as well as data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on state smoking laws, smoking prevalence, and lung cancer incidence.

Results: This study found that the presence of local smoking ordinances in a state is actually associated with a weaker state smoking law over time. This did not result, however, in a statistically higher smoking prevalence or lung cancer incidence at the state level.

Conclusions: This study suggests that each state must approach its tobacco control policies based on its own unique political culture and values. States that do seek to strengthen statewide smoking restrictions may find success through non-traditional strategies, including increasing a state's cigarette excise tax and increasing funding for tobacco prevention programs.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe the influence of local smokefree tobacco policies on the strength of statewide smoking restrictions, smoking prevalence, and lung cancer incidence. Identify strategies and tactics that have been successfully shown to increase the strength of statewide smoking restrictions in the modern anti-tobacco movement. Understand the different roles that local and state policymakers and advocates must play to create a comprehensive body of smokefree policies.

Keywords: Tobacco Control, Tobacco Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I received my doctorate in public health and submitted a portion of this research toward the sucessful defense of my doctoral dissertation. Additionally, I am currently the Tobacco Use and Prevention Manager at the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.