OPINION EDITORIAL By Ashley Ross, MPH

Last week, Louisiana Legislators demonstrated that Louisiana can lead instead of lag when it comes to protecting the health of its citizens. Our lawmakers are to be applauded for listening and responding to the majority of their constituents by passing the Louisiana Smoke-Free Act which protects Louisianans from the dangerous health effects of secondhand smoke exposure—the nations third leading cause of preventable death.

With the stroke of the Governors pen, Louisiana will become one of only 20 states to enact legislation that eliminates secondhand smoke in public places, including restaurants and most work places. Lawmakers in our neighboring states of Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, who have yet to pass similar legislation, will now look to Louisiana as a leader in the movement to eradicate a public health threat that claims thousands of lives and costs taxpayers billions in lost productivity and healthcare expenses each year.

Although some tobacco and restaurant industry spokespersons claim that Louisianas Smoke-Free Act will hurt businesses, widespread public support for smoke-free policies and research in smoke-free states tells a different story. According to recent surveys, 75 percent of Louisianans do not smoke, and two-thirds of Louisiana residents support smoke-free restaurants. Numerous objective studies (using data including sales tax receipts, business openings and closings, and employment figures) also show that businesses that go smoke-free, or are mandated to do so, suffer no negative impact. In most cases, their profits actually increase rather than decline.

Employers will also find that a smoke-free work environment creates healthier employees, who are in turn more productive, more reliable, and less expensive to insure.

In the future, I believe Louisianas Smoke-Free Act will be seen as a major turning point for our state. With their courageous votes last week, our Legislators have shown they are no longer willing to let Louisiana languish at the bottom of lists that rank states based on the health of their citizenry. Instead, Louisiana is now among national leaders in an effort to protect Americans from the dangers of secondhand smoke. We all should thank our Senators, Representatives, and the Governor for ushering in this new day.

Ashley Ross, MPH is Director of The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, an affiliated program of the Louisiana Public Health Institute.