Laws implementing bans on indoor smoking have been introduced by many countries in various forms over the years, with some legislators citing scientific evidence that shows tobacco smoking is harmful to the smokers themselves and to those inhaling second-hand smoke.
In the latter part of the 20th century, as research on the risks of second-hand tobacco smoke became public, the tobacco industry launched "courtesy awareness" campaigns.
Fearing reduced sales, the industry created a media and legislative programme that focused upon "accommodation".
Specifically, meta-analyses show that lifelong non-smokers with partners who smoke in the home have a 20–30% greater risk of lung cancer than non-smokers who live with non-smokers.
Non-smokers exposed to cigarette smoke in the workplace have an increased lung cancer risk of 16–19%.
A study issued in 2002 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization concluded that non-smokers are exposed to the same carcinogens on account of tobacco smoke as active smokers.
Restrictions upon smoking in bars and restaurants can substantially improve the air quality in such establishments.On 3 April 1987 the city of Beverly Hills, California, initiated an ordinance to restrict smoking in most restaurants, in retail stores and at public meetings.It exempted restaurants in hotels – City Council members reasoned that hotel restaurants catered to large numbers of visitors from abroad, where smoking is more acceptable than in the United States.Tolerance and courtesy were encouraged as a way to ease heightened tensions between smokers and those around them, while avoiding smoking bans. state of Minnesota enacted the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, making it the first state to restrict smoking in most public spaces.In the US, states were encouraged to pass laws providing separate smoking sections. At first restaurants were required to have "No Smoking" sections, and bars were exempt from the Act.When effectively implemented they are seen as an important element of policy to support behaviour change in favour of a healthy lifestyle.Research has generated evidence that second-hand smoke causes the same problems as direct smoking, including lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and lung ailments such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma.They stated that "There is strong evidence supporting smoking bans and restrictions as effective public health interventions aimed at decreasing exposure to secondhand smoke." Pope Urban VII threatened to excommunicate anyone who "took tobacco in the porchway of or inside a church, whether it be by chewing it, smoking it with a pipe or sniffing it in powdered form through the nose".The earliest citywide European smoking bans were enacted shortly thereafter.Such bans were enacted in Bavaria, Kursachsen, and certain parts of Austria in the late 17th century.Smoking was banned in Berlin in 1723, in Königsberg in 1742, and in Stettin in 1744.