Lots of people make healthy resolutions for the New Year. But the owners of the Emperor’s Palace restaurant in Bremerton made an even bigger resolution — their entire restaurant went smoke-free on Jan. 1.

Owner Kim Tang explains that her husband Sam Luong recently gave up his own tobacco habit for the health of their first grandchild. Now they’ve decided to share a healthier atmosphere with customers.

The couple thought about making the switch to clean air for some time. It’s also a business decision, Tang emphasizes.

“We have a lot of nonsmoking customers,” she said. “They just want to enjoy the food, not the smoke.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that secondhand smoke causes cancer in humans, with no safe level of exposure. According to the EPA, about 37,000 non-smokers a year die in the U.S. from heart disease attributed to environmental tobacco smoke. In children, exposure to secondhand smoke is linked to increased bronchitis, pneumonia, other respiratory diseases, chronic ear infections, and asthma.

The Emperor’s Palace is at 3509 Kitsap Way in Bremerton.

For a listing of Fresh Air Restaurants in Kitsap County, contact the Kitsap County Health District at 360-337-5246, ext. 6292.