Enact Statewide Smoke-Free Law

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kentucky is second in the nation in the number of adult smokers (29% of the population). Smoking-attributable health expenditures are estimated at more than $1.5 billion annually in Kentucky, and smoking-attributable economic productivity loss is estimated at more than $2.3 billion each year in the state. The Chamber supports enacting a comprehensive statewide smoking law that prohibits smoking in indoor workplaces and public places, including restaurants, bars and hotels; 33% of Kentucky’s population and 28 states and the District of Columbia passed comprehensive smoking laws that have proven to curb smoking rates and lower health care costs without negatively affecting business.