Tobacco legislation has broad population reach and has the potential to reduce alcohol consumption and its adverse health impacts. From a practical standpoint, evidence for the residual beneficial impact of smoke-free policies on AUD status over time could potentially bring additional partners into smoke-free policy debates. As of January 2012, only 29 states had enacted 100% smoke-free legislation for bars and restaurants (ANR, 2012); however, in the remaining states, the policy debates continues. Resistance to such polices are based on concern over adverse economic consequences to the local hospitality industry. However, research has demonstrated that decreases in frequency of pub patronage among certain subgroups following the implementation of smoke-free policies are compensated for by increased frequency of pub patronage and spending among other subgroups (e.g., non-smokers; Hyland et al., 2008; McKee et al, 2009). Indeed, studies consistently show that smoke-free policies have no adverse economic effect on hospitality revenues (Cowling and Bond, 2005; Luk et al., 2006; Scollo et al., 2003). Additionally, there is some evidence that media attention on smoke-free legislation can increase smokers’ support for smoke-free legislation (Nagelhout
