A Year of The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act Has Louisianans Breathing Healthier

December 10, 2007, Alexandria, LA January 1 marks a full year since The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act went into effect and Louisianans are breathing healthier air. The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act, which eliminates smoking in most work places and public places, has been lauded by a vast majority of Louisianas citizens and embraced by affected businesses, including restaurants. According to a poll conducted by The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL), 81percent of registered voters in Louisiana are in favor of the fact that The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act eliminates smoking in all restaurants.

What a difference a year makes. Weve made great strides this year to educate business owners and the public about the law and how to properly comply with it, says Jennifer Pearce, Alexandria Area Regional Coordinator for TFL. Air quality in restaurants across the state has improved significantly and Louisiana smokers and tobacco users are getting the message that there is no better time than now to quit. The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act is not only a breath of fresh air, its a breath of healthier air!

The Air We Breathe

A study of indoor air quality in restaurants and bars released earlier this year shows that Louisiana restaurants had eight times more indoor air pollution prior to the January 1 enactment of The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act than they do today. Restaurants that allowed smoking before the enactment of the law had indoor air quality measurements defined as hazardous (dangerous) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Today, the indoor air quality measurements in Louisiana restaurants fall into the EPAs moderate (acceptable) rating. Drastic changes in air quality mean it is safer for workers, children and people with existing respiratory conditions to eat in Louisiana restaurants today than it was a year ago.

The indoor air quality study conducted by The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living and the LSU School of Public Health also underscores the difference in indoor air quality between restaurants that are now smoke-free and bars that still allow smoking. Indoor air pollution levels are 91 percent lower on average in smoke-free restaurants compared to bars where smoking is still permitted. According to the Centers for Disease Control, rooms filled with secondhand smoke have up to six times the air pollution as a busy highway.

Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act

Eighty-five percent of cigarette smoke is released into the air for others to breathe and after just 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke in a smoky room, the health effects are the same as if you had smoked a cigarette yourself, adds Pearce. The indoor air quality study clearly shows that The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act has been effective in reducing the amount of air pollution that workers and patrons are exposed to, particularly in restaurants – its good for health and business.

Calling it Quits

The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act is also credited with encouraging smokers and tobacco users to quit. Since the law went into effect, more than 7,100 tobacco users across the state have sought counseling and information about quitting with calls to The Louisiana Tobacco Quitline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW. In fact, Louisiana boasts the highest number of intake calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW from January through October 2007 and ranks 4th out of 13 participating states in the number of completed counseling sessions during the same timeframe.

Calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW are free and offer confidential advice and support to Louisiana residents, ages 13 and older, who are interested in, or ready to quit, smoking. Certified counseling is available in English, Spanish and other languages, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to help callers conquer their addiction to nicotine.

In addition to 1-800-QUIT-NOW, The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living and the Louisiana Tobacco Control Program provide cessation services across Louisiana including group counseling in collaboration with the American Lung Associations Freedom from Smoking Clinics and the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. The Tobacco Control Initiative (TCI) also offers tobacco cessation resources and counseling services within public hospitals throughout Louisiana that combine behavioral counseling, social support, and pharmacotherapy to assist patients in their efforts to quit tobacco use.

Quitting is the most important step a smoker can take to improve the length and quality of their life and the health of those around them, says Pearce. While conquering a tobacco addiction isnt easy, there are a number of statewide cessation programs that tobacco users can turn to for support. However, many tobacco users find that they have the greatest success by simply quitting cold turkey. In fact, a majority of tobacco users quit cold turkey even if it takes several attempts.

More Work to be Done

The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act removed smoking in most workplaces and public places. Due to current exemptions in the law, many workers remain exposed to secondhand smoke. Eliminating smoking indoors has greatly improved indoor air quality for many workers in Louisiana, but there is plenty more work to do, says Pearce. All workers deserve protection from the deadly toxins and cancer causing particles in secondhand smoke. Thanks to The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act, local governments now have the power to pass smoke-free air laws that are even stronger that the states law local laws that require all workplaces to be smoke-free.

Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act

Studies show that high levels of secondhand smoke on the job can double nonsmokers risk of developing lung cancer, and those who inhale it at work over the long-term face a 50 percent higher risk for lung cancer. When compared to other workplaces, bartenders typically must tolerate four to six times more exposure to secondhand smoke. As a result, these bartenders, along with others who are unprotected in workplaces currently exempt from the law, inhale enough secondhand smoke every day to suffer some identical health effects observed in pack-a-day smokers.

According to Murphy Painter, Commissioner of the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, more than 95 percent of Louisiana restaurants are adhering to the law. Support for 100 percent smoke-free environments in Louisiana is strong and growing, adds Pearce. Smoke-free workplace policies are the only effective means to truly eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace. This year we are working to educate local communities about proper compliance with The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act and their new found powers to protect all workers from secondhand smoke through local policies. Its clear that smoke-free is where most Louisiana citizens want to be.