State Preemption of Local Smoke-Free Laws in Government Work Sites, Private Work Sites, and Restaurants—United States, 2005–2009

February 5, 2010 / Vol. 59 / No. 04

MMWR Introduction

A new CDC report found that from December 2004–December 2009, the number of states preempting local smoking restrictions in at least one of three settings—government work sites, private-sector work sites, and restaurants—decreased sharply from 19 to 12. Preemptive legislation prevents communities from enacting smoke-free laws that are more stringent than state law, blocking local efforts to establish stronger protections from secondhand smoke. The report findings indicate significant progress towards achieving the Healthy People 2010 goal of eliminating preemptive state smoke-free laws, and could result in greater protection against secondhand smoke exposure.