Do outdoor smoking bans protect public health?

Secondhand smoke's harmful health effects are well-documented. According to Web MD, "A 2006 surgeon general's report confirmed that secondhand smoking (also called involuntary or passive smoking) can kill, and it concluded that there is no amount of exposure to secondhand smoke that is safe. The more secondhand smoke you breathe in, the more your health risks increase. ... Secondhand smoke can have a number of serious health effects on nonsmokers, particularly cancer and heart disease." It's no wonder, then, that government agencies would make a push toward regulating secondhand smoke by instituting bans on smoking in places like bars, hotels, public transportation, and other enclosed areas where people would otherwise be forced into being exposed to others' cigarette smoke. If you've ever seen an episode of "Man Men," you'll realize just how prevalent smoking used to be in public places we'd never tolerate it today, including office buildings and on airplanes.

And indeed, the payoff of such bans has already been observed. Reports the Los Angeles Times: "Studies on the effects of smoking bans have underscored the risks of secondhand smoke as hazardous to public health. Communities that prohibit smoking in places such as restaurants and workplaces have consistently observed a decreased rate of heart attacks." Less clear, however, are the benefits of bans on smoking in outdoor spaces, where it's uncertain whether the air dilutes the smoke to a point where it's less harmful than indoors.

Some communities and cities have instituted bans on smoking in public places like bus stops, soccer fields, outdoor cafes and parks. California has traditionally been a pioneer in creating and enforcing such measures, and the effort has spread throughout the country. Back in 2006, the city of Calabasas, Calif. banned smoking in all public places, indoor or outdoor. Since then, state lawmakers just this month have also moved to ban smoking on all public beaches and in state parks, a move the L.A. Times called "one of the nation's most far-reaching regulations of tobacco use." In addition to preventing exposure to harmful secondhand smoke, legislators reason it will also eliminate a good deal of littering, and hopefully will help prevent fires started by cigarette butts. So far, it's unclear whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign the bill.

Still, the verdict is at least partially out on how effective outdoor smoking bans are at protecting health. Notes the Times: "No one has studied the effect of outdoor no-smoking policies. However, the California EPA report includes outdoor measurements of secondhand smoke, and in some settings, such as designated smoking areas or out in front of a bar, the levels were comparable to indoor data."

Photo credit: Ed Yourdon