Smoking bans pay dividends

The rationale behind many bans on indoor smoking was to protect non-smoking patrons and employees from the dangers of second-hand smoke. To some degree, public health officials also wanted to make lighting up so inconvenient that smokers might consider giving up the habit.

Bit by bit, cigarettes have become less tolerated in American society. In addition to bans in restaurants and bars, some communities have taken the additional step of banning smoking in outdoor venues such as parks.

A new study published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine suggests other benefits for youth. Massachusetts children who live in towns with strict restaurant smoking bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than their peers in communities with no bans or weak ones, according to the study.

The study's lead author, Dr. Michael Siegel of Boston University School of Public Health, said the bans send a message to children that smoking is socially unacceptable. Moreover, they reduce children's exposure to smoke in public places.

The study also found that a key factor in whether children experiment with cigarettes is whether they have a parent or a close friend who smokes. If there is a smoker in the home, a child will have more ready access to tobacco. There is also a matter of setting an example. It is difficult, if not folly, for a smoking parent to tell his or her children, "Do as I say and not as I do."

A child who smokes will likely offer cigarettes to his or her peers. A child may take up smoking to remain in the same social circle.

In many respects, education efforts have gone a long way to curb teen smoking. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of smoking among high school students has been declining since 1997. The CDC attributes the decrease to national mass media campaigns, school-based anti-smoking efforts as well as significant increases in the retail price of cigarettes.

It is important that this trend continue because fewer people taking up the smoking habit means fewer people will suffer and die from smoking-related illnesses. Government agencies, community organizations, schools and parents must continue to impress upon youth the negative health and social impacts of tobacco use.

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