Where there's no smoke: popular smoke-free laws curbing active, passive smoking.

Of all of the efforts to control smoking in the United States that were launched after the release of the Surgeon General's Report on Smoking 40 years ago, many experts agree that the grassroots movement to limit the public's exposure to secondhand smoke has been the most successful. That initiative is celebrating its own 30th anniversary this year with a string of very recent successes that highlight a growing trend in passage of smoke-free policies by small towns, large cities, states, and even nations. In June, the Norwegian government distributed posters nationwide that read, " Welcome to Norway. The only thing we smoke here is salmon,'' announcing its new ban on smoking in all workplaces , including bars and restaurants. Smoking is not allowed in Ireland's pubs as of March 29, nor is it permitted in public spaces in The Netherlands. Similar measures have also been adopted in New Zealand, India, Uganda, and Bhutan, and more nations are expected to quickly follow suit. Also in June, Massachusetts became the sixth state in the United States to pass a comprehensive smoke-free bill, prohibiting smoking in all workplaces— defined as including restaurants and bars. It joined California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, and New York with comparable no-smoking policies. But those successes seem to pale next to the achievements seen at the local levels. By June, 1,726 towns and cities had passed local clean indoor air laws, and 307 of these municipalities provide for 100% smoke free protection for private workplaces, government buildings , restaurants, and/or bars, according to the national lobbying organization, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. The group estimates that to date, more than 35% of the U.S. population is now subject to a local or state 100% smoke-free indoor air law. (See Stat Bite, p. 1059.) Although that fact prompts celebration among clean indoor air advocates, it also pleases public health officials who foresee future declines in lung cancer and heart disease because of reduced smoking, passive or not. " There is clear data that smoking bans both reduce the number of cigarettes smokers use and increase the number of people who actually quit, " said Thomas Glynn, Ph.D., director of International Tobacco Programs at the American Cancer Society. " No-smoking policies are absolutely a key element in an overall tobacco control program. " Although the effort at passing no-smoking policies is snowballing, it is not rolling as fast it could if …