Effects of Smoke-Free Laws on Alcohol-Related Car Crashes in California and New York: Time Series Analyses From 1982 to 2008

摘要

We examined effects of New York and California’s statewide smoke-free restaurant and bar polices on alcohol-related car crash fatalities. We used an interrupted time-series design from 1982 to 2008, with 312 monthly observations, to examine the effect of each state’s law on single-vehicle-nighttime crashes and crashes involving a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams per deciliter or greater.Implementation of New York and California’s statewide smoke-free policies was not associated with alcohol-related car crash fatalities. Additionally, analyses showed no effect of New York’s smoke-free policy on alcohol-related car crash fatalities in communities along the Pennsylvania-New York border.Statewide smoke-free restaurant and bar laws do not appear to affect rates of alcohol-related car crashes.