List of smoking bans in the United States

State-wide smoke-free laws, both active and scheduled. See below for key to colors.

The following is a list of smoking bans in the United States. Since the U.S. does not have federal smoking control legislation, the list shows state and local laws. Over 50% of Americans are covered by a smoke-free ordinance of some degree. For other smoking bans and restrictions, see the worldwide list of smoking bans.

Bans in public places or bars/restaurants

Alabama

• Auburn
• Birmingham
• Citronelle, March 1, 2006 banned in workplaces, restaurants, bars, homes providing daycare, and city parks.
• Cottonwood, banned in workplaces, bars, and restaurants.
• Huntsville
• Jacksonville
• Luverne, banned in workplaces, restaurants, and bars.
• Madison, April 13, 2007 City Council voted to restrict smoking in early 2007. Similar to Huntsville's smoking ban, businesses can elect to either be smoking, non-smoking, or elect to have a physically separated smoking room where no one under 19 can enter. If a business declares to be smoking throughout, no one under 19 can enter or work there. Modeled off of an ordinance passed in Prattville, except that physically separated smoking rooms are allowed under Madison's ordinance.
• Montgomery, January 1, 2005, restaurants and bars must completely declare themselves smoking or non-smoking throughout, and are not allowed to have physically separated sections at all for smokers and non-smokers, unlike the ban in Madison, which allows for physically separated smoking rooms. Modeled off of an earlier smoking ban passed in Prattville.
• Pell City, April 2006 banned in all restaurants, but exempts bars. Restaurants only allowed to have a smoking section that is completely physically separated, and have a separate ventilation system.
• Prattville, banned in all restaurants and bars, except for businesses that declare themselves to allow smoking throughout their establishment, and are not allowed to offer a nonsmoking area inside. All businesses have to declare themselves to be nonsmoking, or allow smoking throughout, under the ordinance. Many towns and cities in Alabama have modeled smoking ordinances similar to Prattville's ordinance.
• Trussville
• Tuscaloosa, January 2, 2007, banned in all workplaces, and in restaurants and bowling alleys between 6am and 10pm. Smoking is allowed after 10pm in such businesses, and bars and private clubs are exempt from the ban at all times.

Alaska

• Anchorage, 2001 banned in most workplaces. Bars that don't serve food are exempt. A referendum to roll back Anchorage's ban to the original 2001 smoking ban ordinance on April 3, 2007 failed, and the Anchorage ban will extend to bars, fraternal clubs and bingo halls as of July 1, 2007. Private clubs will be exempt, when closed to the public. [3]
• Bethel, 1998 banned in all public places.
• Juneau, 2002 bans smoking in most public places, but stand-alone bars and some bar/restaurants are exempt until 2008.
• Sitka, October 5, 2005, passed a non-comprehensive ordinance. The only exemptions are for stand alone bars and clubs. An interesting feature was that minors are not allowed where smoking is allowed. This caused the Elks Club to take the decision to ban smoking by a vote of their membership.

Arizona

• 54.8% of voters approved the Smoke Free Arizona Act (Proposition 201), banning smoking in all bars, restaurants, and workplaces. The Arizona Department of Health Services is currently preparing to enforce the measure state-wide.

Arkansas

• July 21 2006 banned in almost all workplaces. Exceptions include establishments that do not allow patrons younger than 21; retail tobacco stores; long-term care facilities including nursing homes; gaming floors of operations regulated by the Arkansas Racing Commission; designated hotel smoking rooms; and workplaces with fewer than three employees.
• Fayetteville, 2004 banned in restaurants.

California

• 1994 banned in almost all workplaces (excepting tobacconists), including all restaurants, and in 1998 smoking was banned in bars. Additionally, California prohibits smoking within 20 feet (6.5m) of any door or window of any government building within the state, including buildings owned or occupied (e.g. leased) by any government entity, including public universities, or public buildings leased to private firms.
• San Luis Obispo, 2 August, 1990 became the first city in the world to ban smoking in all public buildings
• Calabasas, 2006 banned in all indoor and outdoor public places, except for a handful of scattered, designated outdoor smoking areas in town. Believed to be the strictest ban in the United States.

Colorado

• The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act[4] went into effect July 1, 2006, making Colorado the 13th state to pass a comprehensive public indoor smoking ban. The law prohibits smoking in nearly all workplaces and public indoor places, including bars and restaurants. The law exempts tobacconists, casinos, cigar-tobacco bars, limousines under private hire, up to 25% of hotel rooms, workplaces which are not open to public that employ fewer than three employees, and private non-residential farm buildings of farms with less than $500,000 in annual gross income. A group of bar owners tried to block the ban from taking effect in July, [5], fearing that casinos would have an unfair advantage over bars. Their request for a restraining order on the ban was denied by Judge Babcock, but the group is currently proceeding with a lawsuit against the statewide ban.

Connecticut

• The Clean Indoor Air Act[6], effective 1 April 2004, prohibits smoking in nearly all indoor public places and workplaces, including bars and restaurants. Exempt from the ban are existing private clubs and cigar bars, correctional facilities, smoking areas of psychiatric facilities, public housing projects, up to 25% of hotel rooms, and some businesses with fewer than five employees (not including bars and restaurants).

Delaware

• November 2002 banned in all public buildings, including workplaces, bars, restaurants, and casinos.

District of Columbia

The City Council passed a ban on January 4, 2006 modeled closely on NYC's that went into effect on April 3, 2006 for restaurants (except bar areas). Bars, nightclubs, taverns and the bar areas of restaurants became smokefree on January 1, 2007.

Florida

• 1 July 2003 banned in all workplaces, except private homes, tobacco shops, designated rooms at motels and hotels, and stand alone bars with no more than 10% of revenue from food sales.

Georgia

• 1 July 2005 banned in restaurants and bars that allow minors to enter, or employ minors.
• Athens-Clarke County, 2005, Indoor smoking ban, including restaurants and bars, passed by Athens-Clarke County Commission
• Morrow, September 21, 2006 prohibited in all public places, including bars.
• Morrow, Georgiabanned smoking at Walmarts.

Hawaii

• Smoking ban in restaurants are enforced by Honolulu and Maui counties [7]. A smoking ban which will apply to county and state facilities, workplaces, and enclosed or partially enclosed public areas was signed into law on July 10, 2006 and took effect November 16, 2006.

Idaho

• July 2004 banned in restaurants, retail stores, sports venues, child care centers, schools, and hospitals. Bowling alleys will be covered in the ban later this year, due to the legislature recently overriding the governor's veto on a bill extending the ban to bowling alleys. Exempts bars and private clubs.

Illinois

• On July 23, 2007, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the Smoke Free Illinois Act, which bans smoking in virtually all public places statewide, including bars and restaurants, subject to a few, narrow exemptions. The act will become effective on January 1, 2008 and will supersede all local bans that are less restrictive. [8]
• Bedford Park, June 1, 2006 banned in all public places.
• Bloomington, January 1, 2007 banned in all indoor public places (including restaurants, bars, bowling alleys and pool halls), indoor places of employment, and outdoors within 15 feet of the primary public entrance to an indoor area where smoking is prohibited. Exempts tobacco shops closed to minors, certain nursing home rooms, a limited number of designated smoking rooms in hotels, and private clubs only when closed to the public. Establishments with liquor licenses are given a two to six-month extension while constructing an approved outdoor smoking area. There is also a special exemption for one enclosed smoking room with negative-pressure ventilation system, outdoor exhaust, and located within a TSA-secured area; this is intended for passengers at the Central Illinois Regional Airport that have passed through security.
• Buffalo Grove, October 1, 2006 banned in all public places.
• Burr Ridge, July 10, 2006 banned in all public places.
• Carbondale, January 1, 2008 banned in all workplaces and restaurants as of January 1, 2008, and in all bars as of July 1, 2008. Private clubs are exempt from the ban.
• Champaign, January 31, 2007 banned indoors in most retail businesses, including bars and restaurants, and in private clubs licensed to sell food or alcohol. Businesses in the service industry (lawyers, financial consultants, etc.) are exempt and may choose whether or not to allow smoking. [9]. On May 15, 2007, Champaign City Council repealed the ban for bars and clubs, but kept it in effect for restaurants, and certain other workplaces. [10].
• Chicago, January 16 2006 banned in all public indoor places. Effective January 16 2006, the ban prohibits smoking at restaurants without bars, common areas in residential buildings, sports arenas, convention centers, stores, malls, train platforms and outdoors within 15 feet (4.6 m) of any public building entrance. The Chicago Clean Indoor Air Ordinance of 2005 provides that bars, taverns, and restaurants with bars do not have to comply with the ban until July 1, 2008, or they must implement an air-filtration system that will allow the indoor air with smokers to be of the same quality as the outdoor air, and that "private clubs" were permanently exempt. However, both the July 1, 2008 effective date and the private-clubs and air-filtration-system exemptions will be overridden by operation of the statewide smoking ban, the Smoke Free Illinois Act, 410 ILCS 82/1 et seq., that becomes effective January 1, 2008 because the statewide law does not contain exemptions for private clubs and bars/taverns that install a sufficient air-filtration system. Notwithstanding the Smoke Free Illinois Act, the Commissioners of the City of Chicago Departments of Public Health and Environment adopted regulations essentially rendering the air-filtration exemption useless. Those regulations state, in pertinent parts: "no existing engineering approach or technology is capable of reducing the concentration of the constituents of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) to levels that will eliminate health risks or to levels found in ambient air in spaces where no smoking occurs." Accordingly, those regulations further provide that "No public place or place of employment subject to [the Clean Indoor Air Ordinance of 2005] shall be exempt from the smoking prohibition by claiming that such regulated area has been equipped with air filtration or purification device or similar technology that can render the exposure to secondhand smoke in such regulated area equivalent to such exposure to secondhand smoke in the ambient outdoor air." [11]
• Cook County, March 2007. Effective in Cook County, except for municipalities with its own bans, indoor smoking is banned in all public places except for private clubs and nursing homes. Municipalities can opt out and enact less restrictive bans that allow for smoking in restaurants and bars, as is the case with certain suburbs such as Lansing, Rosemont, and Wheeling, where smoking in restaurants and bars is still allowed.
• Deerfield, March 1, 2006. Banned in all public places, including parks and other outdoor assemblies.
• DeKalb, banned in all indoor public places, and was phased in for all restaurants on September 1, 2006. Ban will later be phased in for bars starting September 1, 2007.
• Elk Grove Village, January 1, 2007 banned in all public places.
• Evanston, July 1, 2006 banned in all public places. Exempts private clubs.
• Highland Park, June 1, 2005 banned in all public places.
• Hinsdale, July 1, 2006 banned in all public places.
• Lake Forest, September 1, 2006 banned in all public places.
• Libertyville, October 1, 2006 banned in all public places, including restaurants and bars. Also banned in recreational facilities, outdoor venues, and outdoor patio areas.
• Lincolnshire, August 1, 2006 banned in all public places except enclosed bar areas and separated and ventilated dining areas of restaurants.
• Lindenhurst, November 16, 2006 banned in all public places, including outdoor patios.
• Naperville, January 1, 2008, banned in all workplaces, restaurants, bars, and private clubs as of January 1st.
• Normal, January 1, 2007 banned in all restaurants, bars, and during outdoor assemblies. Exempts outdoor patio areas in bars and restaurants further than 15 feet (4.6 m) from the entrance to a smoke-free building, parks, and private clubs.
• Oak Park, July 1, 2006 banned in all public places. Separate floors of restaurants exempt until March 1, 2007.
• Park Ridge, August 1, 2006 banned in all public places. Bars exempt until September 11, 2006.
• Skokie, August 7, 2003 banned in all public areas and places of employment, except for stand-alone bars, isolated bar areas of restaurants with separate HVAC systems, tobacco stores and bowling alleys. Restaurants with bars were given one year from adoption to complete any changes required to comply with the ordinance. To allow smoking, restaurants with bars are required to have at least 50% of the establishment be smoke-free, and the smoking area must have a wall or barrier and a separate HVAC system.
• Springfield, September 17, 2006 banned in indoor workplaces, including restaurants, bars, bowling alleys and private clubs. Exemptions include retail tobacco stores, some nursing home rooms, stage productions, hotel rooms and private homes not used for child or adult day care. A similar ban for unincorporated areas of surrounding Sangamon County took effect the same day.
• Urbana, August 1, 2006 banned in all public places. Bars had been exempt until January 1, 2007.
• Vernon Hills, October 1, 2006 banned in all public places, except parks and outdoor dining areas at least 15 feet (4.6 m) from entrances.
• Wilmette, July 1, 2004 banned in all public areas and places of employment.

Indiana

• Allen County, 2007 banned in all places, except for bars, and any establishments prohibiting minors under 21 from entering. Similar to the Cook County smoking ban, municipalities are allowed to opt out of it, as New Haven decided to do.
• Avon, September 1, 2006, banned in all public places except bars.
• Bloomington, January 1 2005 banned in public buildings including outdoor dining areas. Smoking is allowed only outside at a "reasonable distance" from doors, vents, and windows - measured by whether smoke can drift inside. Also banned in bars and private clubs as of 2005.
• Carmel, March 5, 2006 banned in all workplaces, enclosed areas and common-use areas (i.e. restrooms, lobbies, etc.), nursing homes and retirement facilities, condos, and restaurants. Exempts bars that don't employ or serve people under 21, tobacco stores and bars, private vehicles, private and fraternal clubs, and hotel/motel rooms, providing that 20% or fewer rooms are designated for smoking.
• Columbus, February 1, 2006, banned in all public places, except bars and private clubs.
• Delaware County
• Evansville, January 2, 2007 banned in most public places, except in establishments with physically separated smoking rooms prohibiting minors under 18.
• Fort Wayne, banned in January 1999 in all restaurants, except in separate, fully enclosed area(s) within a restaurant with a ventilation system. Exempted bars and bowling alleys. Effective June 1, 2007, Fort Wayne's ban expanded to include all restaurants, bars, and private clubs. The new ban excepts retail tobacco stores and hotel rooms that are specifically designated for smoking. [12]
• Franklin, August 1, 2006 banned in all public places, except bars and private clubs.
• Goshen, September 1, 2007 banned in all places, except bars and private clubs.
• Greenfield, March 1, 2006 banned in all public places, but exempts bars.
• Greenwood, April 22, 2006 banned in all places, except bars.
• Indianapolis, March 1, 2006 banned in all workplaces, day-care facilities, sports arenas, and restaurants and bars serving or employing minors younger than 18. Exempts bowling alleys, tobacco bars, tobacco stores, and private clubs.
• Jeffersonville, June 15, 2006 banned in almost all public places, including restaurants. Exempts bars and private clubs.
• Kokomo, October 6, 2006 banned in all public places and workplaces, except bars, private clubs, nursing homes, and any establishments serving alcohol and not serving patrons under 21.
• Lawrence, July 1, 2006 banned in all places except bars.
• Madison,
• Morgan County, January 1, 2005 banned in all restaurants, except ones that have separate smoking rooms.
• Muncie, July 15, 2006 banned smoking in restaurants and bowling alleys, except those with attached bars that were closed off from the rest of the building. Exceptions were also made for bars and taverns.
• Plainfield, February 1, 2007 banned in workplaces, restaurants, and bars. Exempts private clubs and nursing homes.
• Seymour, July 30, 2006 banned in public places except bars and private clubs.
• Shelbyville, August 1, 2006 banned in all public places, but exempts bars.
• Speedway, September 1, 2006 banned in all indoor public places except bars.
• Valparaiso, April 1, 2007, banned in all places except bars and private clubs.
• Vanderburgh County
• West Lafayette, July 1 2007 banned in all workplaces except homes, some hotel rooms, retail tobacco stores, tobacco bars, private clubs and outdoor areas in the city, including Purdue University's main campus.
• Zionsville, August 10, 2006 banned in all indoor public places, including workplaces, restaurants, bars. Also banned in private clubs, like Bloomington's ban.

Iowa

• Ames Banned smoking in most public places other than bars, bowling alleys, truck stops, and restaurants (after 8:30 p.m.). The state supreme court ruled that municipalities did not have the authority to pass such bans thus invalidating the city's ordinance. Due to an aggressive grass roots movement, though, over 95% of restaurants are completely smoke-free.

Kansas

• The Kansas Legislature twice has rejected a statewide smoking ban, once in January of 2007 and again in August of 2007.
• Abilene, August 29, 2005, banned in all workplaces, except bars and bowling alleys.
• Fairway, January 1, 2006, banned in all public places.
• Garden City, January 8, 2007, banned in all restaurants and bars, and private clubs. Exempts private offices.
• Lawrence, July 1, 2004, began a ban on smoking in "all enclosed public places" within the city.
• Leawood, January 2, 2008, was the 2nd Kansas City area municipality to agree to the KRHA model smoking ban ordinance, similar to the ban passed in Overland Park. It bans smoking in all places, except for outdoor patio areas of restaurants.
• Mission, August, 2005, rejected ban on smoking in bars and restaurants
• Mission Hills, May, 2007, rejected smoking ban
• Olathe, November 16, 2006 banned in all public places, including restaurants, bars, and workplaces. Private clubs and fraternal clubs exempt.
• Overland Park, January 2, 2008, banned in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, private clubs, and bowling alleys. Exempts outdoor patio areas of restaurants. First Kansas City area municipality that voted in favor of the model smoking ban ordinance agreed to by Clean Air KC and the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association(KRHA). The former smoking ordinance required smoking areas in restaurants that were built after 2000 to be ventilated and physically separated, and allowed for ventilated smoking rooms in office workplaces to be created, both which will no longer be allowed under the new ordinance.
• Prairie Village, January 2, 2008, banned in all workplaces; bars and restaurants are exempt unless all neighboring cities pass bans (not met as of September, 2007, because Mission and Mission Hills both have rejected proposed smoking bans)
• Roeland Park, May 17, 2006, banned in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants
• Salina, 2002, banned in all restaurants between 5am and 9pm. Ban only applies to restaurants.
• Shawnee, January 2, 2008, banned in all workplaces including restaurants and private clubs, but exempting 25% of hotel rooms and any bars which derive less than 33% of their gross annual revenues from food sales.

Kentucky

• Ashland, October 1, 2006 Prohibits smoking in all enclosed public places and places of employment, as well as outdoor arenas, venues and patios and decks of restaurants.
• Daviess County, January 1, 2006 banned in any public establishment open to children under 18. Exempts private businesses and bars.
• Frankfort, July 25, 2006 banned in public buildings.
• Georgetown, October 1, 2005 banned in most public buildings. Smoking is still allowed in some hotel rooms.
• Letcher County, takes effect July 1, 2006 in all public buildings and restaurants. Exempts private clubs, private buildings.
• Lexington, April 27, 2004 banned in public buildings.
• Louisville, November 15, 2005 banned in all public buildings, except bars and taverns, restaurants with profits from bar sales at least 25%, Churchill Downs, and with permission from the city. Fully banned in restaurants and bars (except at Churchill Downs) as of July 1, 2007.
• Madison County, June 12, 2007 banned in all workplaces, restaurants, and bars, including all businesses in the cities of Richmond and Berea. Exempts outdoor patio areas of restaurants and bars.
• Paducah, April 1, 2007 banned in all workplaces, bars, and restaurants.

Louisiana

• SB 742 signed into law, banning smoking in all workplaces, restaurants, and other indoor public venues. It exempts bars and casinos, taking effect on January 1, 2007. [13]
• Lafayette
• Mandeville, June 10, 2005 banned in public places, workplaces, virtually all areas of public parks, and restaurants without a liquor license. Exempts bars and any restaurants with a liquor license.
• Shreveport, May 10, 2005 banned in public buildings, city parks, public areas, restaurants, and shopping malls and retail stores. Exempts bars and any businesses that sell alcohol.
• Terrebonne Parish, January 12, 2006 banned in shopping centers and malls, adult, child-care, and health-care facilities, parish buildings, sports arenas, museums, retail stores, restaurants without a liquor license, and bus stops. Exempts restaurants and bars with liquor licenses.

Maine

• Effective January 1, 2004 banned in bars. Smoking has been banned in restaurants since September 1999. The "Workplace Smoking Act of 1985" prohibits smoking in workplaces which are not open to the public.[14]
• The city of Bangor, Maine banned smoking in cars with children under the age of 18. There is no fine, but police may pull over a 'suspected smoker,' and warn them. [15]

Maryland

• Gov. Martin O'Malley signed Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 into law on May 17, 2007. Effective February 1, 2008, the law prohibits smoking in indoor public places, indoor workplaces and public transportation. Exempt from the law are private homes and residences, no more than 25% of hotel rooms, retail tobacconists, tobacco manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, or distributors, and laboratories researching the health effects of tobacco smoke. The Act allows businesses to apply for waivers to the law, however all waivers will expire on January 1, 2011.
• Baltimore, City Council passed ban for bars and restaurants on February 26, 2007. Ban goes into effect on January 1, 2008.
• Charles County - banned in restaurants but not standalone bars since June 2006. Its county seat, La Plata, has since passed an expanded ordinance going beyond the county's ban, extending the ban to town bars, in addition to restaurants.
• Howard County - passed smoking ban on June 5, 2006. The ban went into effect in August 2006, but restaurants and bars with existing ventilated smoking areas will have until August 2007 to comply.
• Montgomery County, July 1, 2003 - banned in all eating and drinking establishments. Exempts private and fraternal clubs that hold liquor licenses.
• Prince George's County, December 23, 2005 - banned in all bars and restaurants. Private clubs are exempt.
• Talbot County, April 2004 banned in all bars and restaurants. Exempts fraternal clubs.

Massachusetts

• July 2004 banned in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, except private clubs and cigar bars.
• Freetown, Massachusetts, January 1 2004 banned in all businesses.

Minnesota

• Smoking is prohibited in all indoor workplaces including restaurants, bars, public transportation, and in-home workplaces (during hours of operation) since 1 October 2007 through the Freedom to Breathe Act of 2007 [16]. Some minor exemptions apply, such as allowing actors to smoke in stage performances. This ban enhanced the original Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act of 1975 [17], which banned smoking in workplaces not frequented by the general public. The ban does not prohibit smoking outdoors, regardless of the distance from indoor areas. This ban supersedes all weaker local bans; however, counties and cities are allowed to enforce more stringent rules. Some examples follow.

• • Beltrami County: Smoking is prohibited within 10 feet of the entrances to restaurants and bars. Effective date 1 January 2005.
  • Bloomington: Smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of entrances and in 50% of outdoor eating areas of restaurants. Effective date 19 July 2004.
  • Carlton County: Smoking is banned on 50% of outdoor patio seating in restaurants and bars. Effective date 1 July 2007
  • Cloquet: Smoking is prohibited within five feet of the entrances to restaurants and bars. Effective date 7 September 2001.
  • Golden Valley: Smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of entrances, exits, and ventilation openings of all areas of restaurants and bars; public parks; and recreational facilities. Effective date 31 March 2005.
  • McLeod County: Smoking is prohibited within 10 feet of the entrances to restaurants and bars. Effective date 1 August 2006.

Mississippi

• Hattiesburg: January 1 2007, banned in all indoor public places, including bars, restaurants, and city buildings.
• Oxford: banned in all indoor public places, including bars, restaurants, and city buildings. Smoking is also prohibited in certain outdoor areas.
• Starkville: May 20 2006, banned in all indoor public places, including bars, restaurants, and city buildings. Smoking is also prohibited in certain outdoor areas.
• Tupelo: October 2006, banned in all indoor public places, including restaurants and bars.

Missouri

• No statewide smoking ban ever has been proposed before the Missouri General Assembly, and most state officers, including Governor Matt Blunt, believe that the issue should be decided by cities and counties, not by the state. Only 20% of Missourians support a statewide ban on smoking in all public places. As of 2007, Missouri has the second lowest cigarette excise taxes in the United States, and the electorate voted in 2002 and 2006 to keep it that way. Missouri also has one of the most permissive approaches to alcohol in the United States (see Alcohol laws of Missouri).
• Ballwin, January 2, 2006, banned in all public places, including workplaces, bars, and restaurants.
• Chillicothe, January 1, 2008, banned in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
• Columbia, January 9, 2007, banned in all public places, including bars and restaurants.
• Independence, March 17, 2007, banned in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants, per public vote in November of 2006.
• Jefferson City, December, 2003, rejected a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants
• Kansas City, May 31, 2006, banned in all workplaces, numerous exemptions; an attempt in 2006 to end all but the casino exemption was rejected by the City Council of Kansas City.
  • Exempts bars and restaurants (including private clubs) unless 85% of the population of the surrounding six counties in Missouri and Kansas were to live in a jurisdiction which bans smoking in all bars and restaurants (not reached as of September, 2007); many believe this threshold cannot ever realistically be met;
  • Exempts bowling alleys unless 85% of the population of the surrounding six counties in Missouri and Kansas were to live in a jurisdiction which bans smoking in all bowling alleys (not reached as of September, 2007);
  • Exempts casinos unless both Riverside and North Kansas City were to ban smoking in casinos (not reached as of September, 2007);
  • Exempts taxicabs and limousines in which both passenger and driver agree to allow smoking;
  • Exempts fire stations.
• Kirksville, July, 2007, banned in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
• Lee's Summit, December 8, 2006 banned in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants. The original ban, which was passed in August of 2006, exempted restaurants with ventilated smoking areas and bars that had very limited food sales, but, as in Independence, voters chose to close those exemptions in November of 2006.
• Maryville, banned in restaurants; exempts all bars, exempts restaurants that receive 50% or more of their gross revenues from alcohol.
• Nixa, June 8, 2007, banned in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
• Springfield, July, 2003, banned in all workplaces, including most restaurants; exempts bowling alleys, restaurants with a capacity of less than 50, restaurants with alcohol sales exceeding $200,000 per year, restaurants with more than 50% proceeds from alcohol sales, and bars.
• St. Louis County, August, 2006, rejected a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants, and casinos; instead, required businesses which allow smoking to post signs denoting their choice

Montana

• 1 October 2005, banned in all public buildings, including workplaces and restaurants. Bars, casinos, night clubs, and cocktail lounges that get 60% or more of their income from alcohol or gambling are exempt from the ban until October 1, 2009.

Nebraska

• Lincoln, January 1 2005, banned in public buildings, except outdoor dining areas and designated hotel rooms.
• Omaha, October 1 2006, banned in all workplaces. A five-year sunset clause (until May 2011) exempts bars that don't serve food, keno parlors, and tobacco-only shops. Pending lawsuit in city may eliminate the clause. Pending statewide legislation may mirror Lincoln's ordinance, overriding Omaha exemptions.

Nevada

• On November 7, 2006 Nevada voters enacted the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act[18] (Question 5), codified at NRS 202.2483 et seq. Question 5 received over 54 percent of the vote and became law on December 8, 2006. The Act states that smoking tobacco in any form is prohibited within indoor places of employment including: public and private school buildings and on public and private school grounds; child care facilities with five or more children; all areas of grocery stores, convenience stores and drug stores; all indoor areas within restaurants, including those in casinos or gaming establishments; bars, taverns and saloons that serve food; shopping malls and retail establishments; video arcades; government buildings and public places; and movie theaters. The Act states that smoking is permitted in: areas within casinos where loitering by minors is already prohibited by state law per NRS 463.350; stand-alone bars, taverns and saloons that do not serve food; strip clubs and brothels; retail tobacco stores; and private residences, including private residences that may serve as an office workplace, except if used as a child care, adult day care or health care facility. The Act also permits local governments to adopt regulations more restrictive than state law.

New Hampshire

• Governor John Lynch signed a bill banning smoking in restaurants, bars, and in cigar bars, on June 19, 2007. The law came into effect September 17, 2007.

New Jersey

• April 15, 2006, banned in bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, etc. Exceptions in NJ: cigar lounges, tobacco retailers, and on the gaming floors in Atlantic City casinos (a compromised smoking ban on casino floors went into effect on April 15, 2007). This ban was signed into law on January 15 2006. New Jersey's smoking ban thus connected a stretch of coastal Northeast states with bans against smoking in bars and restaurants, spanning from Delaware to Massachusetts.
• Atlantic City, April 15, 2007, Atlantic City took advantage of a loophole that allows local jurisdictions to enact a tougher smoking ban than the state. A compromise smoking ban proposal was passed, instead of a total ban originally proposed for casino floors, prohibiting smoking in 75% of gaming floors, and requiring any gaming areas allowing smoking to be no greater than 25% of the overall gaming floor. It also requires any gaming areas allowing smoking to be physically separated and ventilated from non-smoking gaming areas, and for permanent separation of such areas to be in place by the end of 2007.

New Mexico

• The Dee Johnson Clean Indoor Air Act[19], effective June 15, 2007, prohibits smoking in virtually all indoor workplaces and indoor public places, as well as the entrances to those buildings. The law exempts casinos, bingo halls, non-profit private clubs, cigar bars, private residences not used for child care or adult health care, tobacco stores and manufacturers, limousines for private hire, up to 25% of hotel rooms, enclosed areas in bars and restaurants used for private functions and sole-proprietor businesses with fewer than two employees. The law also prohibits smoking near the entrances, windows and ventilation systems. Employers will be required to adopt, implement and post a written smoking policy. Penalties are $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation within 12 months and $500 for the third and subsequent violations.

New York

• July 2003 banned in all workplaces, bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, pool halls, and company cars, except Indian casinos and "cigar bars".
• New York City, March, 2003 - banned smoking in all restaurants, food-service establishments, and bars.

Ohio

• On November 7, 2006 Ohio voters approved Chapter 3794 of the Ohio Revised Code (AKA Smoke Free Ohio and Issue 5), which bans smoking in all restaurants, bars, and workplaces with very few exceptions. As this ban is a state law, it superseded any local or county smoking ban previously in force when it came into effect on December 7, 2006. The law gave the power of enforcement to the Ohio Department of Health. On May 3, 2007, the Ohio Department of Health began enforcement of the law.[20] A business may be fined up to $2,500 and individuals $100 if they violate the ban.

Oklahoma

• Smoking is illegal inside and within 25 ft (7.6 m) of all State-owned buildings, including courthouses, municipal buildings and public education facilities.
• Smoking is banned in any indoor workplace - including restaurants and hotels - unless a separate ventilation system under negative pressure is installed for ventilating the smoking area. Some exceptions are built into the statute.
• Smoking on the Oklahoma State University campus will be banned as of July 1, 2008.

Oregon

• On June 26th, 2007, Gov. Kulongoski signed the Clean Air Act (SB571), which will ban smoking in all enclosed public places, including bars, taverns, and restaurants. Exempt from the ban are tobacconists, cigar bars, and up to 25% of hotel rooms. The law takes effect on Jan. 1st, 2009.[21]
• Corvallis, August 1997 banned in all businesses and public buildings, including within 3 meters (10 ft) of entrances.
• Eugene, July 2001 banned in all public areas, including bars, restaurants, and venues. [22]
• Multnomah County, July 1 2000 banned in workplaces, except bars, truck stops, and private residences.

[23]

• Philomath, banned in all workplaces, restaurants, and bars.

Pennsylvania

• In May of 2007, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that Pennsylvania's Clean Indoor Air Act of 1988 prevented all local governments except the city governments of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from restricting smoking beyond existing state law, which does not ban smoking in all workplaces, in bars, or in restaurants. The court's decision specifically nullified smoking bans in Erie County and Allegheny County.
• Erie County, March 15, 2007, banned in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars within Erie County. The ban was invalidated by the Commonwealth Court's May, 2007, decision detailed above.
• Philadelphia, January 8, 2007, a ban on smoking in almost all workplaces, including in all restaurants and any bars which do not receive at least 90% of their gross revenues from alcohol sales.
• Scranton, January 7, 2007, banned in almost all workplaces, including restaurants and most bars. The ban was invalidated by the Commonwealth Court's May, 2007, decision detailed above.

Puerto Rico

• Banned in almost every indoor location as of March 2, 2007[24]

Rhode Island

• 1 March 2005 banned in almost all indoor workplaces, except some gambling facilities.

South Carolina

• Beaufort County, banned in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, within unincorporated areas of Beaufort County. January 10, 2007. [25]
• Bluffton, banned in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars. January 10, 2007. [26]
• Charleston, July 2007, prohibited in all restaurants, bars, and workplaces. Cigar bars, theatrical performances involving smoking, and 25% of designated hotel and motel smoking rooms are exempt.
• Columbia, January 9, 2007, banned in all workplaces, except for bars where 85% of revenue comes from the sale of alcohol. [27]
• Greenville, January 1, 2007, banned in all workplaces, restaurants, and bars. A court ruling in early 2007 ruled Greenville's smoking ban to be in violation of a state preemption law, and invalid. Due to the ruling, Greenville has chosen not to enforce their ban, for now. [28]
• Hilton Head Island, Indoor smoking ban in restaurants, bars, and public places will take effect May 1, 2007.[29]
• Mount Pleasant, September 1, 2007 banned in all restaurants, bars, workplaces, and private clubs.
• Sullivan's Island, effective July 20, 2006, a ban on smoking in workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Upheld by the Charleston County Court of Common Pleas on December 20, 2006. [30]

South Dakota

• 2002 banned in all office workplaces, and restaurants that don't have a liquor license. Smoking also banned in all government buildings, per an executive order by Governor Mike Rounds in 2006. Gambling and casino facilities, bars, and any restaurant that has a liquor license are exempt from the ban.
• Sioux Falls 2003 closed the loophole allowing restaurants to obtain a liquor license, without intention to use it, to keep their smoking sections of their restaurants. Restaurants that have liquor licenses must have liquor on their menu and available to customers.

Tennessee

• State Senate passed a billed backed by Gov. Phil Bredesen banning smoking in restaurants and most public places on May 24, 2007. The House passed the Non-Smoker Protection Act on May 31, 2007 with more exceptions than the Senate version. Notable exemptions to the bill include bars with access to persons 21 and older at all times, private clubs, businesses with three or fewer employees, and establishments with at least one completely open garage type door on one or more sides. The bill was signed on June 11, 2007, goes into effect on July 1, 2007, and will be enforced beginning on October 1, 2007.

Texas

• Abilene, January 3, 2007 voter-approved smoking ban took effect, banning smoking in all restaurants, bars, and workplaces.
• Alvin, 2002 banned in restaurants. Bars and taverns exempt.
• Arlington, January 1, 2007. Ban includes all restaurants and clubs as well as outdoor areas within 50 feet of entrance or exit of establishment.
• Austin, September 1 2005 ban extended to all bars and clubs. Smoking is still allowed in bingo halls, fraternities, hotel rooms, and nursing homes. The ban was approved by only 52% of voters.
• Beaumont, ban takes effect August 1, 2006 in all enclosed public places, including workplaces, restaurants, and bars.
• Benbrook, effective November 1, 2006. Ban includes all public buildings and within 25 feet (7.6 m) of entrance or exit of same. For the purposes of this ordinance, 'public building' includes home offices, regardless of access to public, as well as storage buildings, detached garages, or any other building on residential site or other place in the city. Ban includes allowing a person to smoke.
• Boerne, effective March 27, 2007. Banned in all public places within the city limits, except bars.
• Brenham, July 20, 2007, banned in all workplaces, except bars and manufacturing facilities.
• Carrollton, banned in restaurants.
• Dallas, March 1 2003 banned in all restaurants, bowling alleys, and city-owned facilities. Bars are exempt and hotels can offer smoking rooms. Private clubs are still subject to these regulations.
• El Paso, January 2 2002 banned in all workplaces, bingo halls, restaurants, bars, and public areas and waiting rooms of doctor's facilities.
• Harlingen, April 2, 2005 banned in all public places except bars, nightclubs, and at Valley Race Park, a local dog track.
• Houston, September 5 2005 banned in restaurants, but excludes bar areas inside restaurants and bars/taverns. Ban extended to bars and restaurant bar areas in September 2007.
• Laredo, October 2006 banned in all public places, workplaces, restaurants, and bars. Was amended earlier this year to exempt establishments that prohibit minors under 21 from entering.
• Lubbock, July 22, 2004 banned in all public places, except for any smoking areas in restaurants or bars that are completely walled off from the rest of the building, and have a separate ventilation system. Bingo halls and designated hotel smoking rooms exempt.
• McAllen, October 23, 2007 banned in all places, except private clubs, tobacco shops, and bars that get 70% or greater sales from alcoholic beverages.
• New Braunfels, banned in most indoor public places, including restaurants. Private clubs and stand-alone bars exempt.
• Odessa, banned in restaurants, except for any smoking areas in restaurants that are completely walled off from the rest of the building, and have a separate ventilation system.
• Plano, banned in restaurants. Was amended earlier this year, and expanded on June 1, 2007 to cover all places, including restaurants and bars.
• Robinson, banned in all public places. Exempts bars.
• Rollingwood, banned in restaurants and bars.
• Round Rock, banned in workplaces and restaurants. Bars are exempt.
• Schertz, 2001 banned in restaurants, except if restaurant bar sales account for greater than 25% of a restaurant's business. Bars exempt.
• Southlake, June 1, 2007, banned in all workplaces, restaurants, bars, and outdoor patio areas. The ordinance, as written, also bans smoking in all motel and hotel rooms.
• West Lake Hills, smoking banned in public places.
• Woodway, banned in restaurants, bars, and workplaces.

Utah

• In 2006 Utah became the 12th state in the country to enact a law banning smoking in bars. On March 1, 2006, the Utah State Legislature passed amendments to the 1995 Utah Indoor Clean Air Act that will fully ban smoking in bars and taverns by January 1, 2009. The revised smoking ban originally banned smoking in private clubs as of January 1, 2007, but a bill passed earlier this year that will now start the ban for private clubs in Utah 2 years later, and on the same day as when bars go nonsmoking. The new amendments will also restrict smoking from day cares; private schools; social, fraternal and religious organizations; and even workplace smoking areas. The 1995 act already banned smoking in restaurants.

Vermont

• September 1 2005 Vermont has three laws governing smoking in workplaces and public places. The "Smoking in the Workplace" law prohibits smoking in all areas of workplaces except separately-ventilated smoking areas that non-smoking employees are not required to visit, areas commonly open to the public and any portion of a structure which also serves as the employee's or employer's personal residence. The "Smoking on School Grounds" law prohibits smoking on public school grounds, and prohibits students from smoking at all public school sponsored events. The "Smoking in Public Places" law prohibits smoking in all public places including restaurants and bars, exempting only areas of owner-operated businesses which are not open to employees and not commonly open to the public.[31]

Washington

• December 8, 2005 banned in all workplaces, including bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, non-tribal casinos, and bus stops. Also bans smoking while standing within 25 feet (8m) of a door or window that can open or a ventilation intake, and even cigar bars aren't allowed to have smoking. Private property is excepted from this ban, and "smoking clubs" have opened that allow smoking. Currently it is the strictest smoking ban by state in the country.

West Virginia

• Local smoking bans of varying degrees in place in all counties except Mingo County, Pocahontas County, and Monroe County. The bans have been set by county health departments. The "banning" began in 2001, starting with Kanawha County.

Wisconsin

• Appleton, July 1, 2005 banned in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
• Ashland, May 1, 2000 banned in restaurants. Exempts bars, and any restaurants with physically separated and ventilated smoking rooms.
• Beloit, July 1, 2007 banned in all workplaces, and restaurants. Exempts gaming facilities, and taverns with 50% or greater alcohol sales.
• Eau Claire, 2000, banned in all restaurants.
• Fitchburg, April 1, 2008, banned in all restaurants. Bars and bowling alleys will be phased into the smoking ban, but were given a 3 year sunset clause from being covered by the ban (until January 1, 2011). Cigar bars, and designated motel smoking rooms are permanently exempt.
• Janesville, 2002, banned in restaurants, except for physically separated and ventilated areas within a restaurant. Also exempts restaurants that have less than 50% food sales.
• Kenosha, banned in all restaurants in 2000. Exemption is restaurants with completely separate rooms with a completely closed room separating smoking from non smoking.
• Madison, June 21, 2005 banned in all workplaces, including bars, and restaurants. Cigar bars were originally covered in the ban, but are now exempt. Also exempts private clubs. [32]
• Menominee, September 12, 2006 banned in all public places, except Native American ceremonies, bars, and restaurants with that make 50% or more of their sales from alcohol.
• Shorewood Hills, 1995 banned in all restaurants, bars, and workplaces.
• Wauwatosa, July 1, 2006, banned in all restaurants, except in restaurants that have a physically separate room designated for smoking, or a bar area that is fully enclosed and separate from a dining area. Also exempts any restaurants that derives 51% or greater sales from alcohol.

Wyoming

• Cheyenne, August 15, 2006 banned in all public places, restaurants, bars, and private clubs.
• Evanston, 2006, banned in all restaurants, bars, and workplaces.
• Laramie, April 6, 2005 Smoking outlawed in all public places, including restaurants, bars and private clubs.

Other bans

Some public transit agencies have chosen to take the step of banning smoking in any public transit facilities, and went beyond just banning smoking on public transit vehicles or trains. Portland, Oregon's mass transit agency, Tri-Met, decided to prohibit smoking within all bus shelters, transit centers, and most MAX train stations, as of September 2005. This rule is enforceable by a fine, exclusion, or arrest.

Similarly, Illinois law prohibits anyone from smoking on public school property (indoors and outdoors). In addition, smoking is prohibited in all college and university dormitories, as of 2006. Other states have also chosen to pass bans on smoking in all college dormitories, such as New Jersey, and Wisconsin, though their ban only applies to public university dormitories.

Several states ban smoking in all government buildings, such as Kentucky, Tennessee, South Dakota, Virginia, and Mississippi.

In addition, Maryland law bans smoking in all office workplaces.

In 1997, pursuant to Executive Order 13058 signed by then-President William J. Clinton on August 9, 1997 smoking was prohibited in all interior spaces owned, rented or leased by the executive branch of the Federal Government and in any outdoor areas under executive branch control in front of air intake ducts.

Other restrictions

Many California communities have established smoke-free registries for private residential buildings, especially apartments. The policies may range from complexes where smoking is entirely prohibited (whether inside private dwellings or outside), or where certain sections of dwellings may be designated as smoking dwellings. While still a relatively new phenomenon, many California cities and communities such as Los Angeles have worked with the American Lung Association, which has been active in promoting anti-smoking policies in private residential buildings. Not surprisingly, such measures are somewhat controversial. While pro-smokers' rights groups have been vocal against such policies, most California cities allow landlords to place anti-smoking regulations at will because anti-smoking rules are in a context of landowners' private property. Also, anti-discrimination laws do not cover smokers, as smokers are not a protected class. According to the Los Angeles Daily News 82% of Californian apartment-dwellers favor smoking restrictions in their buildings.

In addition, many hospitals have enacted restrictive smoking bans throughout all outdoor areas of their campus in recent years, or enacted bans requiring smokers to stand as much as 50 feet away from buildings, causing much debate, and even condemnation from some non-smokers as being overzealous. An example that illustrates this controversy is a recent smoking ban enacted at the University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics in Columbia, MO. The hospital recently banned smoking as of September 2006 anywhere in or around the hospital, including in employee and patient vehicles - considered to be dangerous by some, since this forces some disabled to possibly have to cross a busy street to smoke while at the VA Hospital. Their official policy currently is to distribute flyers to patients saying that smoking is banned and detrimental to health, and take no further action. Some employees though, especially nurses and other staff, have reportedly done more than this, and fear it could lead to potential lawsuits, especially if patients are injured crossing the street to take a smoking break. In addition, the staff there is required to tell patients that they must cross the street to smoke (and one nurse even reportedly assisted a patient across the street while holding their IV bag). Some people have suspected that actions like this may put nurses and staff at risk for lawsuits from patients, since the university's official policy is to do nothing more after informing patient's that the facility is non-smoking. http://www.muhealth.org/~center/pgsmoking.shtml http://www.townoflaplata.com

See also

• Smokeasy
• Smokers Rights

References

• "State Smoking Restrictions." National Restaurant Association. Updated July 2006.
• Provance, Jim (1 May 2007). "Exemption on hold for private clubs: Cancer Society, bars win temporary block in court". The Blade. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved May 3, 2007. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Anti-Smoking Whiteboard

• Lists, Charts, and Maps of Smokefree Laws from the Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation