KING COUNTY, WA - No butts about it -- there are more smoke-free restaurants in King County than ever before, according to a Seattle-King County Department of Public Health telephone survey. The rate has jumped to 64% -- up from 25% in 1990. This is one of highest voluntary rates in a major metropolitan area in North America!
Based on survey results, the Public Health Department has produced the 1999 Smoke-Free Restaurant Guide for King County which includes listings for more than 1,600 smoke-free restaurants. Printed copies of the Guide will be available in late March. To order a printed copy, click here.
Secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including more nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and cancer causing chemicals than smoke inhaled directly from a cigarette. Exposure to environmental smoke or secondhand smoke is responsible for >1000 non-smoker deaths in Washington state each year. Secondhand smoke exposure also contributes to respiratory problems in young children and infants.
Tukwila restaurant campaign
After a recent campaign in Tukwila, an additional 11% of Tukwila restaurants went smoke-free. Similar campaigns were conducted in Shoreline (1998), Kirkland (1997), and Seattle (1996). All were very successful.
The Public Health Department -- through its annual smoke-free restaurant campaign -- encourages and supports restaurants throughout Seattle and King County to become smoke-free. The restaurant campaign started in 1995 with a comprehensive plan to increase the number of smoke-free eating establishments in King County. Each year, one or two King County cities are selected to be part of an educational campaign encouraging restaurants to go smoke-free. The Department includes them in the annual Smoke-Free Restaurant Guide free-of-charge.
In addition to telephone surveys, the Public Health Department makes personal visits to area restaurants and provides them with information to help them in their efforts to go smoke-free. The Department also surveys them about various issues concerning smoking in restaurants. Of the 518 restaurant owners surveyed from 1996 through 1998, 360 (70%) support a ban on smoking in all King County restaurants.
Restaurant owners/managers may receive more information on "going smoke-free" by clicking here or calling the Public Health Department's Tobacco Prevention Program at (206) 296-7613 or by visiting http://www.metrokc.gov/health/tobacco
