Anti-smoking advocates believe good things have happened since the state’s smoking ban went into effect.
Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the law.
Lynnsey Erickson of Winnebago County Public Health says fears from many bar owners that they’d lose business didn’t come true. She believes more people were going to bars and restaurants because they didn’t have to worry about the smoke.
Erickson says it was also healthier for workers.
Dona Wininsky of the American Lung Association says adult smoking rates dropped from 20 percent to 16 percent. The youth smoking rate fell from 21 percent to less than five percent.
Erickson is concerned about the jump in e-cigarette use among teens to 17 percent. She wants the state to take action by expanding the smoking ban.
Several cities in northeast Wisconsin have their own vaping bans in place.
