Smoking Bans Linked to DUI Fatalities
When cities and towns across the country started passing laws and ordinances banning smoking in public places, it wasn't clear what impact, if any, the smoking bans would have on the number of drunk drivers on the road. Smoking cigarettes and drunk driving don't exactly seem to have an obvious link - or do they?
If you go to any bar or pub that allows smoking, you find a large number of people who do not normally smoke suddenly looking to bum a smoke from the closest smoker. Many people who do not consider themselves smokers often enjoy a cigarette, or several, while out drinking. So on the surface, it would seem that people who enjoy smoking while they drink, along with the admitted smokers, would tend to stay home and drink rather than go to a bar where it would be illegal to light up. However, two new studies indicate that may not be the case and these smokers may actually be driving further to drink in bars that allow smoking or have a designated outdoor smoking area.
A study by researchers in Wisconsin has shown that city smoking bans have increased the incidence of drunk driving. A nationwide study that will be released by the Journal of Public Economics has found that after communities have enacted smoking bans, there has been an increased amount of alcohol related fatal traffic accidents, according to a report by The Capital Times.
Researchers were stunned by the results of the studies. It had been expected that DUI arrests would decrease in areas with smoking bans in effect. The data was double checked and verified and found to be accurate and conclusive that smoking bans increase the amount of drunk drivers on the road, alcohol related fatalities and DUI arrests.
In Wisconsin, the researchers collected data for two years and looked specifically at highway fatalities that involved a driver with a blood alcohol content over .08 percent. The data was separated into two groups - cities and counties with smoking bans and those without restrictions on smoking. The results showed that there was an increase in fatal alcohol related traffic accidents in areas after the smoking bans were enacted.
In the nationwide study, data from 2001 to 2005 was used and the results were comparable to the results of the Wisconsin OWI study. This study found that smoking bans raise the amount of alcohol related traffic fatalities by about 13 percent.
Another theory as to why the areas with smoking bans are experiencing more alcohol related traffic fatalities and DUI arrests is that non-smokers who would have previously avoided smoke-filled bars and pubs are now going out to drink rather than staying at home. This could also be a contributing factor in the increased amount of drunk drivers in areas where smoking is prohibited.
Whatever the reason, the studies show clear evidence that smoking bans trigger an increase in drunk driving. Lawmakers must now decide which is the bigger risk - secondhand smoke or drunk drivers? For now they seem to have decided that secondhand smoke is the bigger health risk and the smoking bans are likely to become more widespread, which may actually eliminate part of the problem.
