What does CDC consider an evidence-based strategy to protect people from secondhand smoke?
A policy that prohibits smoking in all indoor areas of a building is an evidence-based strategy to eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. The Surgeon General has concluded that eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. To have the most public health impact, applicants are encouraged to include strategies that will eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke through comprehensive smoke-free policies. CDC considers a comprehensive smoke-free policy as a area-wide policy that prohibits smoking in all indoor areas of workplaces, restaurants, and bars.
