Surprisingly, January 2, 2010, was not the end of the world as we know it. North Carolina's new smoke-free restaurant and bar law went into effect that day and from all reports, North Carolinians are leading healthier lives and commerce in bars and restaurants has not ground to a screeching halt. In fact, some establishments report that business is up since the implementation of the law.

As of January 2, 395,000 bar and restaurant workers can go to work knowing that their hearts and lungs are protected by this new smoke-free policy. Even more exciting, millions of North Carolinians will be protected from secondhand smoke while spending time in bars and restaurants in our state. No longer will our state's residents have to put their health at risk if they want to go out to eat with their family or have a drink with friends.

The 2006 Surgeon General's Report on the Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Secondhand Smoke found that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Additionally, a recent study by the National Institute of Medicine, reported that as little as thirty minutes of exposure can trigger a heart attack in someone with heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. The IOM study also reported that smoke-free laws like the one adopted in North Carolina can cause a substantial reduction in the number of deaths and hospital admissions due to heart attack. In North Carolina, this would translate to a reduction of nearly 4,400 admissions and 1,100 deaths due to heart attacks. A reduction of this nature will save North Carolina tens of millions of dollars in health care costs.

The law implemented on January 2 not only made most dining and drinking establishments smoke free, but local communities will now have the authority to pass local ordinances restricting smoking in other indoor, public places to further protect additional workers and visitors from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

A year from now, we will ask ourselves, "Why did it take so long for North Carolina to make its bars and restaurants smoke-free?" However, it took a lot of hard work from many individuals and organizations to get us here. The North Carolina Alliance for Health lead a broad coalition of health and environmental groups to get the new law passed, but it was the vision of the law's main sponsors, Representative Hugh Holliman and Senator William Purcell that made this policy a reality.

Back in 2005, Representative Holliman began the uphill fight to challenge the perception that a state in the heart of tobacco country could never go smoke-free. No legislator takes on the tobacco industry in this state without substantial political risk. In addition, the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association was an essential partner with the Alliance and the broader health community in getting this law passed. It could not have happened without their support.

With rare exception, the implementation of new law has been well received by the bar and restaurant owners across the state. As of February 7, only 615 complaints (from 456 businesses) have been filed across the state. There are almost 24,000 businesses subject to this new law! What is most interesting is that this number dropped from a high of 198 complaints in week two of the new law to 71 complaints by the beginning of February.

Credit for this smooth implementation goes to the educational efforts of local health directors and early work on the part of restaurant and bar owners in preparing for the new law. It also demonstrates overwhelming public support for clean smoke-free environments.

January 2, 2010 was great day for North Carolina. Our new law is a good one and was a great step forward for the health of our state, but there is still work to do. Even with its passage, hundreds of thousands of workers are still not protected from exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace and there are significant disparities in the type of workers who are unprotected.

For the most part, white collar workers are safe from secondhand smoke in the work place, but many blue collar and services workers (other than in bars and restaurants) are still at risk for this deadly exposure. Don't the people who work in factories and shops deserve the same protections as office workers, teachers and state employees?

The North Carolina Alliance for Health is committed to making all worksites in our state smoke-free and will continue to push for comprehensive legislation to protect every worker because everyone deserves the right to breathe smoke-free air.

Betsy Vetter is the North Carolina Director of Government Relations for the American Heart Association and chair of the North Carolina Alliance for Health. Pam Seamans is the Executive Director for the Alliance.