Restaurant Press Releases

Population Covered By Smoke-Free Restaurants Doubles In Two Years

CONTACT:
Paul McIntyre or
Anne Naughton
(916) 780-0226
Immediate Release: May 29, 2003

The percentage of the United States population covered by smoke-free restaurant laws doubled from 2001 to 2003 according to Kids Involuntarily Inhaling Secondhand Smoke, a California-based nonprofit that works to educate restaurateurs about the benefits of going smoke free.

KIISS CEO Paul McIntyre said that, "At the beginning of 2001, six years after California went smoke free in all workplaces including restaurants and bars, the movement seemed to be losing momentum." Then several significant cities and states followed California's lead and the percentage of U.S. population covered by smoke-free workplace policies climbed 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, then grew to include cities like Honolulu, Dallas, Boston and the states of Delaware, Florida and New York by 2003. Chicago, along with other big cities and several states, is still in the midst of deliberating smoke free restaurant, bar and workplace legislation.

KIISS was founded in 2000 by those influential in passing California's workplace smoking ban, AB 13, in 1994. Anyone interested in more information on helping restaurants become smoke free can obtain videos, pamphlets or decals at www.kiiss.org.