Eliminating smoking in bars, restaurants, and gaming clubs in California: BREATH, the California Smoke-Free Bar Program.

On January 1, 1998, California became the first state in the country to prohibit indoor smoking in nightspots, bars, bar/restaurant combinations, bingo parlors, cardrooms, and casinos on a statewide basis. This paper describes the activities which achieved this result, based on a program with three main goals: Ease the transition for business owners; Activate public support for the law; Defeat tobacco industry efforts to undermine the law. Important lessons learned from this campaign are presented.