60 percent of America’s biggest cities are now smoke-free
CDC press release:
Thirty of America’s 50 largest cities are now covered by laws that prohibit smoking in all indoor areas of private workplaces, restaurants, and bars, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By late 2000, only one of the 50 largest U.S. cities—San Jose, Calif.—was covered by such a law. As of Oct. 5, 2012, 16 of the 50 largest cities were covered by local comprehensive smoke-free laws, and 14 more were covered by state comprehensive smoke-free laws.
The CDC’s report, “Comprehensive Smoke-Free Laws — 50 Largest U.S. Cities, 2000 and 2012,” contains a table with a summary of the laws in the fifty cities. In addition to the thirty cities with “comprehensive” bans (workplaces, restaurants, and bars) on the city or state level, an additional fourteen have a smoking ban in one or two of those subcategories. The six largest cities not covered by any sort of law are Los Angeles, CA (#2), Oklahoma City, OK (#31), Fresno, CA (#34), Virginia Beach, VA (#39), Atlanta, GA (#40), and Tulsa, OK (#46).