The 2006 Surgeon General's Report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke confirmed once and for all that secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard. The Report also makes clear that smoke-free environments are the only way to effectively protect nonsmokers from this hazard. We sought to assess the Report's impact on public-sector and private-sector policy decisions.

Methods:

We systematically tracked policy developments in the public and private sectors following the release of the Report using a number of methods.

Results:

The Report has had a decisive impact on a range of public and private policy decisions taken at the national, state, and local levels. This impact was immediate, and has continued over time. In many cases, policymakers specifically cited the Report's conclusions in announcing their decisions to make various settings smoke-free. Some policymakers and organizations that in the past had been skeptical about the science of secondhand smoke and had opposed smoke-free policies reversed their positions following the release of the Report. The presentation will include examples of ways in which state and local tobacco control programs have used the Report's findings to advance their objectives.

Conclusions:

The Report has accelerated the spread of smoke-free environments, and appears to have helped push the United States past a tipping point on this issue.