Despite extensive support for smoking-related benefits accrued by smoke-free policies, relatively few studies have investigated the influence of smoke-free policies on drinking outcomes. Using longitudinal data from the US Health and Retirement Survey (1992–2002), Picone et al. (2007) found that smoking restrictions reduced alcohol consumption in older adult women. However, this generalized population effect did not account for the timing of when specific state policies were enacted, nor did it evaluate reductions in alcohol consumption as a function of smoking or heavy drinking status. Using a prospective design, our group previously found that the implementation of smoke-free policies in Scotland were associated with significantly reduced drinking in pubs and bars among moderate- and heavy-drinking smokers compared to the rest of the United Kingdom without such legislation (McKee et al., 2009). Additionally, using data from a nationally representative sample of smokers from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the United States we found that smoke-free legislation was not associated with overall changes in alcohol consumption, but was associated with reductions in drinking frequency among heavy smokers and reductions in drinking quantity
