Congratulations! Your state or community has adopted (or plans to adopt) a smoke-free workplace law. On this Web site you'll find tips, tools and resources to help you successfully implement your new law.
You are part of a public health success story that is sweeping the nation and the world. Together, we can protect everyone’s right to breathe clean air!
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Implementation Day
Six Months Before
Use this timeline as a guide to going smoke-free. Six months before:
- Identify resources to implement the new law
- Establish a Web site
- Identify community allies
- Start educating businesses
- Plan to evaluate the law’s impact
Three Months Before
- Train staff and volunteers
- Create and distribute a business education kit
- Educate the public through media outreach and advertising
- Set up a telephone hotline to answer questions
- Identify resources to help smokers quit
One Month Before
- Generate media coverage
- Ensure businesses post “No Smoking” signs
- Publicize resources to help smokers quit
- Create buzz through a “Countdown to Smoke-Free Air”
- Plan an Implementation Day celebration
Implementation Day
(and the day before)
- Issue a press release welcoming the new law
- Visit businesses to answer questions
- Address concerns with facts and success stories, and…
Celebrate your right to breathe clean air!
Immediately After Implementation
- Be positive: maintain momentum
- Generate positive news and respond quickly to negative news
- Thank elected officials who passed the smoke-free law
- Be prepared for legal challenges
- Prepare cessation quitlines for increased call volume and publicize increases
Three Months After
- Finalize plans for evaluating the law’s impact
- Conduct a poll to demonstrate public support
- Conduct air quality testing to show improvements
- Track impact on workers’ health
Six Months After
- Call media attention to how the law is successful
- Collect growing evidence that the new law is beneficial to workers and public health.
One Year After
- Hold an anniversary celebration
- Call media attention to the law’s successes, including public support and improvements in air quality and workers’ health
- Continue to evaluate the law’s impact on health and business