Smoking bans work better with light users.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Smoking bans in cities, counties, and states lead young people living in those areas to give up, or never take up, the use of cigarettes, according to a study in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. In particular, the study found that young males who were light smokers before a smoking ban was instituted in their area were more likely to give up cigarettes after a ban went into effect. Smokers who lived in areas where there never was a ban were not likely to drop their cigarette habit.

Smoking bans did not seem to affect tobacco use among women, although their use already was below that of men. 'These findings provide some of the most-robust evidence to date on the impact of smoking bans on young people's...