Media Statement

Montana Goes Smoke-free

Bars in Montana went smoke-free today, making Montana the 22nd state in the country to have a comprehensive smoke-free law in workplaces, restaurants and bars.  Previously, Montana workplaces and restaurants were already smoke-free.

Secondhand smoke causes 46,000 heat attacks and 3,400 lung cancer deaths each year.  In 2006, the Surgeon General concluded that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke and that eliminating smoking from all indoor areas is the only way to fully protect people from secondhand smoke exposure.  Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air and ventilating buildings are not effective ways to protect the public from secondhand smoke exposure.

Additionally, strong smoke-free laws have been associated with a rapid and substantial reduction in hospitalizations for heart attacks.  Two recent scientific studies that reviewed this topic independently estimated that on average, heart attack hospitalizations drop by about 17% the first year after implementation of a smoke-free law.

According to CDC’s State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System, the 22 states with smoke-free workplaces, restaurants and bars are:

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Delaware
• D.C.
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Maryland
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Montana (effective October 1, 2009)
• Nebraska
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Utah
• Vermont
• Washington

 

Resources:  

• US Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2006. Available at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/report/fullreport.pdf.
• Lightwood JM, Glantz SA. Declines in Acute Myocardial Infarction After Smoke-Free Laws and Individual Risk Attributable to Secondhand Smoke. Circulation. 2009 Sep 21. [Epub ahead of print]
• Meyers DG, Neuberger JS, He J.Cardiovascular effect of bans on smoking in public places: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Sep 29;54(14):1256-7.
• CDC’s State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/statesystem.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES