The benefits of effective smoke-free legislation are numerous:

• Protects everyone from the dangers of second-hand smoke.
• Changes social norms by making smoking less acceptable, thereby reducing both smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke.
• Leads to a substantial decline in exposure to second-hand smoke, reduces health inequalities associated with second-hand smoke exposure at work, causes an immediate decline in the risk of heart disease, and improves respiratory symptoms in people exposed at their workplace.
• Positively affects businesses (except the tobacco industry) in numerous ways, including improving the health and productivity of employees and reducing their health and hazard insurance claims. Furthermore, costs are reduced by avoiding the cleaning of smoking waste from the workplace, the maintenance of designated smoking rooms, and potential litigation. Smoke-free policies do not cause a decline in the business activities of restaurants and bars.
• Reduces cigarette consumption among current smokers and gives smokers a greater chance to successfully quit.
• Reduces tobacco use among youth.
• Leads to smoke-free homes.

If your country is a party to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), it is required by law to submit periodic reports on its implementation of the Convention, including implementation of smoke-free policies. You can read the latest global progress report of the Convention. If you are interested in knowing how your country is doing in terms of implementing best practices measures for the reduction of tobacco demand, you can find information from your country in the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic.