TCN Strategies for Smoke-Free Air Policy Implementation
Teleconference Series

Summary:
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report, Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence, provides a comprehensive review of the scientific studies on the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and acute coronary events.  The IOM report was requested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the wake of a growing number of studies throughout the world that found reductions in heart attack rates after smoke-free laws are implemented. The IOM reviewed 11 such studies in the United States, Canada, Scotland and Italy and a multitude of other scientific studies. This report presents another opportunity to make the case for smoke-free laws to the media, policy makers and other audiences.  It demonstrates why states and localities that have yet to enact comprehensive laws should do so quickly; why those that still have loopholes in their laws should close them; why those currently implementing laws should make sure they are effectively implemented and strongly enforced; why states and localities that have passed and effectively implemented comprehensive laws have done the right thing to protect health and save lives; and, finally, how to implement evaluation measures to strengthen the science supporting these life-saving policy interventions.  The webinar will focus on the report’s findings followed by state and local case studies that evaluated the impact of smoke-free air policies on health and other important outcomes.

Webinar Materials:

• Agenda
• Neal L. Benowitz’ Presentation
• Harlan R. Juster’s Presentation
  • Observational Checklist - Bars
  • Observational Checklist - Restaurants
• Christine Nevin-Woods’s Presentation

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:

• Increase awareness of the causal relationship between SHS exposure and acute coronary events, including heart attacks.
• Recognize the causal relationship between smoke-free laws and decreases in acute coronary events.
• Identify ways that state and local tobacco control program managers and advocates can collaboratively use this information to strengthen smoke-free air policies and their implementation.
• Better understand the relationship between comprehensive smoke-free laws and their impact on improving health outcomes as evidenced by experiences in New York State and Pueblo, Colorado.

Speakers:

• Neal L. Benowitz, MD
  Professor of Medicine and Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, Chief of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco
• Harlan R. Juster, PhD
  Director, Tobacco Surveillance, Evaluation and Research, Bureau of Chronic Disease Epidemiology & Surveillance, New York State Department of Health
• Christine Nevin-Woods, DO, MPH
  Executive Director, Pueblo City-County Health Department

Suggested Reading:
To learn more about Smoking Bans and read the Institute of Medicine Report, please visit the CDC Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention website.

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