Statewide Smoking Ban Took Effect July 24

Smoke-free restaurants and bars may thrive on new smoke-free clients

July 31, 2003

Assemblymember Kevin Cahill (D-Kingston) announced that a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants went into effect on July 24. The measure, which became law in March 2003, extends the provisions of the New York State Clean Indoor Air Act of 1989. This act will help protect New Yorkers from dangerous cancer-causing chemicals associated with cigarette smoke (Ch.13 of 2003).

"Non-smokers, especially employees in the restaurant and tavern industry, will finally be able to breathe clean air," Mr. Cahill said. "This newly enacted legislation safeguards non-smokers from the harmful effects of toxic second-hand smoke and cancer-causing carcinogens produced by cigarettes from clouding up the workplace."

Exposure to second-hand smoke is a serious health threat. In fact, it’s the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States and is responsible for 63,000 American deaths each year. Second-hand smoke can cause lung cancer, nasal sinus cancer, cardiovascular disease and heart attacks and exacerbate respiratory diseases, like asthma.

Studies show that adult non-smokers are exposed to more second-hand smoke in the workplace than at home or anywhere else. "Every New Yorker should be able to breathe air free of cancer-causing cigarette smoke," Mr. Cahill said. "This law will ensure that our loved ones’ health isn’t compromised when they go to work."

In addition to protecting non-smoking workers, the new law protects patrons of restaurants and bars that formerly allowed smoking and may in fact make the facilities more inviting to non-smokers.

"This law will in no way hurt the hospitality business," said Assemblymember Cahill. On the contrary, it will level the playing field across the food and beverage industry by eliminating disparities in local statues and costs associated with separate ventilated smoking rooms. "Furthermore, the law doesn’t prevent people from patronizing restaurants and bars. It simply allows more people to better enjoy going out because they won’t have to worry about inhaling second-hand smoke," he concluded.

In fact, Zogby International recently released a statewide survey commissioned by the Coalition for a Healthy New York that showed New York voters support the recently enacted Clean Indoor Air Act by nearly a two-to-one margin (63 percent to 35 percent). Those who said they would eat out or go to bars more often when smoking is no longer allowed also outnumbered those who said they would go out less often.

The law is supported by the Medical Society of the State of New York, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, New York Public Interest Research Group, American Lung Association and the New York State Restaurant Association, among others.

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