The state of New York will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its indoor smoking ban act on July 24. The Clean Indoor Air Act was introduced in 2003.
According to the Clean Indoor Air Act, introduced by the U.S. federal government in 2003, smoking in bars, restaurants, bingo halls and bowling alleys was illegal and could attract a penalty of up to $2,000.
On Wednesday, July 24, the state of New York will celebrate its tenth anniversary of enjoying smoke-free air indoors.
"The passage of New York State's Clean Indoor Air Act was a historic moment for public health," Wall Street Journal quoted Blair Horner, vice president of advocacy at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network as saying. "In 2002, the average New York bar or restaurant was essentially a hotbox of deadly carcinogens. For hospitality workers clocking an eight-hour shift, this was an incredibly dangerous situation."
Over the decade many other smoke-free laws have been introduced across the country. Smoking rates reduced by 16 percent among adults and by over 40 percent among the youth. New laws have not been the only reason why these rates have dropped. According to the American Lung Association's annual State of Tobacco Control report, New York has the highest tobacco tax.
Despite these achievements, lung cancer remains the number one cancer killer of both men and women. Twenty-five thousand New Yorkers will die this year due to smoking and another 2,600 will die prematurely from exposure to secondhand smoke, the report suggested. Smoking-related healthcare costs New York more than $8 billion per year.
According to a Centers of Disease Control and Prevention report, states in the U.S will collect $25.7 billion from tobacco taxes and legal settlements in the year 2013, but will spend only 1.8% of the $25.7 billion on prevention and cessation programs.
As a result, smoking and tobacco use still remains the number one cause of preventable disease and death in America. Each year, tobacco use accounts for over 400,000 deaths every year in the country. The country spends $97 billion in lost productivity plus $96 billion in health care expenditures every year due to tobacco use.
