Despite clear evidence that smoking and AUDs co-occur, no previous study has investigated the extent to which tobacco legislation impacts the likelihood of AUD diagnoses over time. We used data from a large, prospective, population-based sample of U.S. adults in an innovative way to investigate concurrent effects of smoke-free bar and restaurant policies on the onset, remission, and recurrence of AUDs. Results indicated that the implementation of statewide smoke-free policies in drinking venues was associated with a higher likelihood of AUD remission among the entire sample, and this effect was more pronounced in the sub-sample who drank at least once per month in public venues. Further, those engaging in public drinking also had a lower likelihood of an AUD onset but not recurrent AUDs. It is possible that eliminating opportunities to drink and smoke concurrently in public venues reduced the likelihood of new onset AUDs. These results, coupled with recent evidence that smoke-free policies are associated with reduced alcohol consumption in some studies (Kasza et al, in press; McKee et al., 2009; Picone et al, 2007), suggest that the true
