Restaurant Press Releases

Nonprofit Advances Smoke-Free Restaurant Trend

CONTACT:
Paul McIntyre or
Anne Naughton
(916) 780-0226
Immediate Release: June 24, 2003

Spring-boarding off the success of California's smoke-free restaurant law, which was enacted in 1995, the nonprofit Kids Involuntarily Inhaling Secondhand Smoke (KIISS), has worked to help give one-third of the U.S. population 100 percent smoke-free restaurants today.

Despite the fact that California's restaurant sales increased at four to eleven percent annually since California went smoke-free in restaurants in 1995 and bars in 1998, the smoke-free movement was losing momentum by the end of the 1990's. But that momentum was re-ignited in the last two years as the percentage of the U.S. population covered by smoke-free restaurant laws more than doubled from 13.4 percent in 2001 to 31.45 percent in 2003.

It started small with cities like El Paso, Texas and Tempe, Arizona going smoke-free early in 2002, and then grew to include larger cities like Honolulu, Dallas, Boston and New York City. The states of Delaware, Florida, Maine, Connecticut and New York soon joined them. It's not just an American phenomenon. Entire countries like Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands passed smoke-free restaurant and bar laws this year too.

To help these newly smoke-free states with the implementation of their law, as well as to help educate restaurateurs throughout the nation about the benefits of smoke-free policies, KIISS has created an informational pamphlet and video. The video, entitled "A Search For Solutions," chronicles the experience of California restaurateurs who went smoke-free in their restaurants and is now available in its fourth edition, free of charge.

From the American Lung Association to the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Medical Association, the Environmental Protection Agency and Center for Disease Control, all leading health organizations agree that secondhand smoke kills about 53,000 people annually. And restaurants are the workplace with the highest secondhand smoke exposure according to the National Cancer Institute. "There is no longer any doubt that secondhand smoke is a workplace hazard. It is time for restaurateurs to make a change, and realize that smoke-free laws will benefit their business and the health and safety of workers and customers alike," says Paul McIntyre, President and CEO of KIISS.

Anyone interested in receiving a free copy of the "A Search For Solutions" video, pamphlet, or other information on helping restaurants become smoke free, can contact KIISS at www.kiiss.org or call 916-780-0226.