Restaurant smoking bans may play a role in persuading teens not to become smokers..

May 6, 2008 - Restaurant smoking bans may play a role in persuading teens not to become smokers.. The study found youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in communities with no bans or weak ones. (Siegel et al.,Local Restaurant Smoking Regulations and Adolescent Smoking Initiation, Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162(5):477-483.)Age was also a factor. Smoking bans had a greater effect on younger teens than on older teens. On April 15, 2008 Iowa became the 23rd state along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that require most public places and workplaces, including restaurants and bars, to be smoke free.