The primary purpose of smokefree laws and policies is to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke.1 However, smokefree laws can also motivate and help tobacco users quit and prevent initiation of tobacco use. Studies have shown that the implementation of smokefree laws and policies can increase cessation and reduce smoking prevalence among workers and the general population1-6 and may also reduce smoking initiation among youth.1,7
Reviews
U.S. Surgeon General
In 2006, the U.S. Surgeon General concluded that "workplace smoking restrictions lead to less smoking among covered workers."1
Task Force on Community Preventive Services
In 2010, a systematic review by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services reported that:2
Eleven studies found that smokefree laws and policies in workplaces were associated with a median 6.4% increase in tobacco use cessation.
Twenty-one studies found that these laws and policies were associated with a median 3.4% decrease in tobacco use prevalence.
International Agency for Research on Cancer
In 2009, a report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer on the effects of smokefree laws concluded that:3
There is sufficient evidence (the highest level of evidence under the report’s rating scale) that smokefree workplaces reduce cigarette consumption among continuing smokers.
There is strong evidence (the second highest level of evidence) that smokefree workplaces lead to increased successful cessation among smokers.
There is strong evidence that smokefree policies reduce tobacco use among youth.
Cochrane Review
In 2010, a Cochrane review of 23 studies of smokefree laws reporting measures of active smoking reported:4
There was no consistent evidence of a reduction in smoking prevalence attributable to these laws.
However, total tobacco consumption was reduced in studies where smoking prevalence decreased.
Selected Studies on Reduced Smoking
Adults
Studies in:
Found that:
Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Germany (2011)
20 U.S. and 2 Canadian communities (2005)5
Employees who worked in places that maintained or implemented smokefree policies were nearly twice as likely to stop smoking as employees who worked in places that allowed smoking everywhere.
Australian, Canadian, German, and U.S. communities (2002)6
A smokefree workplace policy:
Reduces smoking prevalence by 3.8% among employees who smoke
Reduces daily smoking by 3.1 cigarettes (per smoker) among employees who continue to smoke
Youth
Studies in:
Found that:
Massachusetts (2008)7
Youth living in towns with laws making restaurants smokefree were less likely to progress to established smoking than youth who lived in towns with weak smoking restrictions (odds ratio: 0.60, 95% confidence interval: 0.42–0.85).
This effect was found to be entirely due to a reduced likelihood of progressing from experimentation with smoking to established smoking.
Hopkins DP, Razi S, Leeks KD, Priva Kalra G, Chattopadhyay SK, Soler RE, et al. Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Smoke-Free Policies to Reduce Tobacco Use: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2010;38(2 Suppl):S275–89 [cited 2014 Apr 25].
Bauer JE, Hyland A, Li Q, Steger C, Cummings KM. A Longitudinal Assessment of the Impact of Smoke-Free Worksite Policies on Tobacco Use. American Journal of Public Health 2005;95(6):1024–9 [cited 2014 Apr 25].
Fichtenberg CM, Glantz SA. Effect of Smoke-Free Workplaces on Smoking Behaviour: Systematic Review. British Medical Journal 2002;325(7357):188–94 [cited 2014 Apr 25].
Siegel M, Albers AB, Cheng DM, Biener L, Rigotti NA. Local Restaurant Smoking Regulations and the Adolescent Smoking Initiation Process: Results of a Multilevel Contextual Analysis Among Massachusetts Youth. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 2008;162(5):477–83 [cited 2014 Apr 25].
