A decade later, the smoke has cleared

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One can easily forget just how dramatically the place of smoking in our society has changed in a relatively short timeframe.

Popular culture provides some reminders of how ubiquitous the habit once was, from classic films to the period television drama “Mad Men.” Characters in these pieces light up, quite literally, anywhere and everywhere – in hospitals, on airplanes, at the office, in the presence of children.

That permissiveness waned, of course, as the major health risks associated with smoking were laid bare. The reality that smoking exposes even non-tobacco users to life-threatening maladies made the issue even more urgent.

A decade ago, Rhode Island became the seventh state to stamp out one of the last vestiges of that old smoking culture. On March 1, 2005, the state banned smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places and workplaces through the implementation of the Public Health and Workplace Safety Act.

Even in the context of changing public opinion, the move represented a dramatic shift, and it was not without serious opposition. Smokers lamented the further limitations on their lifestyle. Many business owners fretted over the potential loss of customers, particularly in such a competitive industry as hospitality and dining.

“What we take for granted now – the ability to work, dine or spend time in a restaurant, a bar, at the store, in the office or on the factory floor without having to breathe in other people’s toxic smoke – this was a groundbreaking concept in 2004,” Karina Holyoak Wood, executive director of Tobacco Free RI, said in a recent statement.

Fast-forward 10 years, and those concerns seem as ancient as finding a physician’s testimonial in an advertisement for cigarettes – or, for that matter, even finding an advertisement for cigarettes at all. Nearly 20 states have followed the lead of Rhode Island and its six predecessors in banning public indoor smoking. Young people now coming of age will have no personal experience with, or memory of, a time in which smoking restrictions were different.

“We often underestimate the leading role Rhode Island and the Northeast took in the 1990s and 2000s to protect citizens from smoking-related illnesses like asthma, emphysema and lung cancer, and heart attacks,” Wood said.

The resulting public health benefits are clear. According to Tobacco Free RI, the state’s adult smoking rate declined from 23 percent in 2001 to 17.4 percent in 2012. Even more promising, the youth smoking rate declined from 35 percent in 2001 to just over 8 percent – the second lowest in the nation – in 2013. Figures also show that hospitalizations for heart attacks have dropped sharply.

Smoking and tobacco use will likely never be completely eradicated, and recent years have brought new challenges. Electronic cigarettes and “vaping” have become increasingly popular, and much debate has focused on how those products and practices should be regulated. Rhode Island continues to allow smoking in gambling establishments, a practice touted by some as a competitive advantage and decried by others as archaic and unhealthy.

Regardless of the evolving landscape, the progress made toward a healthier society, and the important role the law change of 10 years ago has played in that, cannot be denied. As Tobacco Free RI and its supporters prepare to celebrate the anniversary of the smoking ban on Thursday at the Johnson & Wales University Harbor View Building in Cranston, we extend our thanks and support. We urge all Rhode Islanders to do the same.

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