Smoke-Free Laws Blanketing Half The Country

Over the past ten years, smoking bans across the United States have started booming. According to reports released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), smoke-free laws prohibit use of tobacco products in restaurants, taverns, and places of employment in nearly half the country.

When the laws were first introduced, companies made attempts to fight them citing the possible loss of business due to turning away potential customers. The fact that smoke-free laws are continuing to skyrocket points to a failure in these attempts, as well as a decline in how many Americans are smoking.

According to Boise Weekly:

“In 2000, only about 3 percent of Americans were covered by smoke-free laws.”

The smoke-free laws do not have a negative impact on business and, according the CDC, the agency director is encouraging the remainder of the twenty largest cities in the country to implement these laws in their restaurants, taverns, and places of employment.

Frieden said in a statement:

“If we can protect workers and the public in the remaining 20 largest cities, 16 million people would be better protected from cancer and heart disease caused by secondhand smoke.”

Though Boise has not imposed these bans for one full year yet, the reaction to implementation of smoke-free laws is still fresh in their minds. Companies believed they would lose business, some patrons believed they were being stripped of their rights, and some workers felt they couldn’t get through a shift without being able to smoke on the premises.

“It’s infringing on my rights,” said Jared Maylin, patron at Liquid. “It’s like french fries and ketchup. Smoking and drinking go hand in hand.”