Most Big Cities Now Covered by Smoke-Free Laws

A sign of how far anti-smoking bans have come in the last decade: In 2000, only one of the nation's 50 biggest cities—San Jose—had a comprehensive law that banned smoking in bars, restaurants, and workplaces. Today, the CDC says that figure is 30, reports WebMD. Of the remaining 20 cities, several are covered by partial bans, either of the city or state variety, but they don't meet the CDC's 100% threshold.

"If we can protect workers and the public in the remaining 20 largest cities, 16 million people would be better protected from cancer and heart disease caused by secondhand smoke," says CDC chief Thomas Frieden. Ten of those cities are in the South. The full CDC report is here. (More smoking stories.)