The promise – and pitfalls – of smoke-free policy adoption

Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) is a major, preventable cause of morbidity and mortality, disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations. Policy measures, guided by the WHO’s Framework Convention of Tobacco Control, have focused on the broad adoption of smoke-free laws. While smoke-free policies are effective in reducing ETS exposure, limited policy dissemination and suboptimal implementation strategies have limited their impact. New research reported by Berman and colleagues in this journal brings these issues into sharper focus. Substantial advances in tobacco control policy have been achieved in Israel, including widening of smoke-free laws, since the passing of a Knesset bill in 2012. However, Berman and co-authors present found no reduction in ETS exposure in a nationally representative sample of non-smoking Israeli adults in 2016 compared with an earlier benchmark measured in 2011. In line with research from international settings, they found that ETS exposure was higher among a traditionally vulnerable subpopulation. The findings serve to remind us that the mere adoption of a policy will not translate into meaningful public health impact without applying best practice implementation strategies. Above all, this work emphasizes the continual need for new research to improve existing policies and inform new policy approaches in pursuit of an end to the harm arising from the global tobacco epidemic.