In recent weeks, a number of developments have made the need for a statewide smoking ban even more pressing.

Municipalities throughout the state continue to enact local restrictions on smoking, making lives more difficult for business owners and residents alike. Also, a new study lends support for a universal smoking ban in finding that variances across the state in such bans leads to increased drunk driving fatalities. For both economic and public health reasons, Wisconsin needs a statewide smoking ban now more than ever.

Due to the state legislature’s failure to pass a statewide ban, a patchwork of local smoking bans has developed across the state. Municipalities such as Eau Claire, Fitchburg and Marshfield have passed such bans in recent weeks and many more are seriously considering them. This may seem like a move in the right direction, but this patchwork complicates matters for residents and businesses alike. Each ban is unique in its exemptions and time horizons. Businesses that have locations across the state will have to change their practices according to any number of plans. Residents in districts that have not passed smoking bans still have to drive farther to avoid smoke-filled bars and restaurants. A statewide ban is the easiest way to clear up this confusion.

Many support a statewide ban because they see the deleterious public health consequences of second-hand smoke in bars and restaurants. Adding to this debate, two Wisconsin researchers have found that a patchwork of smoking bans may endanger public safety. Findings show that smokers who drive longer distances to smoke in bars without smoking bans are much more likely to get in accidents. By passing a statewide ban, there would be no incentive for smokers to drive out of their district to frequent a bars that allow smoking or for non-smokers to drive farther to find a non-smoking bar outside of their district.

At least 22 states, including our neighbors Illinois and Minnesota, have passed statewide bans. According to a recent poll, 69 percent of Wisconsinites support a statewide ban. State legislature must act now: end the patchwork of local smoking bans and enact a statewide ban.