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30 Out Of 50 Big US Cities Put Anti-Smoking Laws into Practice.

By Samantha Goodwin | Update Date: Nov 16, 2012 06:55 AM EST

The U.S.A has seen a 60 percent rise in cities supporting anti-smoking laws of the country, with 30 out of 50 cities banning smoking in public places.

In 2000, only one out of the 50 big cities of the U.S. had implemented the anti-smoking law of banning smoking in public.

"This gap in policy coverage creates disparities in public health protections that are likely to both reflect and contribute to broader tobacco-related population disparities," the report said.

Since then till 2012, the country has seen a 60 percent rise in cities supporting anti-smoking laws of the country, with 30 out of 50 cities banning smoking in public places.

This law bans smoking in bars, clubs, restaurants and workplaces. "Communities have made tremendous progress eliminating smoking from work sites and public places," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Thomas Frieden, M.D., MPH, says in a news release.

Even after this law was implemented, about 3,400 non-smokers die each year from lung cancer and 46,000 die from heart disease caused by second hand smoke, according to CDC.

"If we can protect workers and the public in the remaining 20 largest cities, 16 million people would be better protected from cancer and heart disease caused by second hand smoke," Frieden says.

"Hundreds of cities and counties have passed their own smoke-free laws, including many communities in the South," Dr. Tim McAfee, director of CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, said in the news release. "If we continue to progress as we have since 2000, all Americans could be protected from secondhand smoke exposure in workplaces and public places by 2020."

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