Non-smoking states
 

I am interested in finding out info about what states have non- smoking bans.

Melissa

I don't know if non-smoking states will help you (I know in NY the law covers the whole state) but I thnk in many states the laws will vary by city.

Also - many have partial but not complete non smoking laws (in New York it covers every indoor public place - ecept cigar bars - as well as major outdoor vanues - large stadia, many cafes etc.)

New York (including New York City) has been smoke-free for over 3 years, and it's great!

Given the recent landmark report from the Surgeon General that says "no debate" that second-hand smoke kills, I imagine more cities & states will ban smoking in the near future.

(San Diego is poised to ban smoking OUTDOORS in parks and on the beach -- thank you San Diego!)

California, the first as usual.

This chart should tell you what you need to know:

http://ash.org/smokingbans.html

I can't speak for the entire state of TX, but I can tell you that smoking is banned in public places here in Austin. No more smoky bars, or restaurants where smoke travels from the smoking section. Hip hip HOORAY!!

I think it's banned in Dallas too, although I'm not entirely sure.

Here's a site which has all kinds of information and maps including smokefree municipalities. Enjoy!!
http://www.no-smoke.org/goingsmokefree.php?id=114

The entire state of Delaware is smoke-free. It is wonderful!
Philadelphia is working on a ban.

Thanks

Boston is smoke-free in restaurants and bars. I've that Chicago will be next year.

Several beach cities in California have recently banned smoking on the beach. It goes on a city by city basis.

Can't smoke anywhere in the city of Seattle either. Must be 25' outside of any building :)

Google (ever hear of it?)is an excellent search engine. Try www.google.com - cut and paste it and then enter whatever you're searching for. I just did a search for you and immediately found this site: http://www.smokefreeworld.com/usa.shtml that provides a list with specifics.

bookmarking Thanks.

New Hampshire went smoke free YEARS ago - long before other states.

To the person who bookmarked, I hope you noted that the last post in the thread was from 2006....laws are constantly changing. For instance, since that post the city of Phila. went smoke-free, and more recently, the whole state of PA. I'm sure there are changes elsewhere as well.

Thank you, golaura. I did notice. I bookmarked for the websites.

Ohio - non smoking

Kentucky -- smoking

Colorado~non smoking.

annetti, I don't think you understood what Laura was trying to tell you. The information in the websites that you wanted the links for is obsolete.

For instance, the chart that I linked to on 7/16/06 apparently hasn't been updated, since it contains footnotes saying things like "Effective 1/2008." The page that LLinda posted is blank, and the smokefree page has a reference to a law that will "take effect May 2007".

I believe Indiana is non smoking.

Also, PA has a smoking ban....however, many exceptions at bars, clubs, etc. have been granted. Philadelphia has a smoking ban (though I don't know the specifics; I live in Pittsburgh). Pittsburgh has a ban that was recently passed and is slowly coming into effect.

Anonymous: Thank you. I used one of the websites listed above to check on Arizona's smoking laws. It was able to provide the information I needed, that is, that Arizona is non-smoking.

Kentucky's largest city, Louisville, banned smoking a year or so ago.

So your lungs are safe in restaurants in Louisville!

Louisville and Lexington are non-smoking in bars and restaurants. It's great. Indiana is not a non-smoking state, only certain cities.

(For my sins and with regret) I am a smoker. I've been all over the USA and never had much of a problem having a cigarette! Seattle, California, NYC. Sure, you can't smoke in most hotels, nor restaurants, nor ball parks, nor theatres, etc. But I wouldn't want to do that anyway and, in any case, there have been (semi)bans of this sort, in the UK for at least 10 years, so we've certainly got used to it - and we don't even smoke in our own home! The only place I've come across where there has been a COMPLETE ban, has been San Diego Zoo - the entirety of the park is 'smoke free' - terrible to enforce, however - and we spotted many folk taking a sly puff behind the trees (not us, I hasten to add!)
I think it's good. I hate the smell of cigarette smoke! :) And it's certainly not healthy. I do not wish to make others inhale my second hand smoke and I don't want others to do it to me. However, if the things are still legal and they are happy to take your money for them (and, in this country, at least - take the HUGE tax income from them) then they should have somewhere where they can be smoked!

The smoking ban covers the whole state of Washington, not just Seattle.

Certainly the 'smoking ban' covers the entirety of Washington State. But people still smoke! In Seattle, there was a cute little smokey hole thingie outside our hotel, where people gathered! In Mt Rainier NP, people just smoked ... likewise around Mt St Helens. And Grand Coulee Dam. And Columbia River Road. And. Well, everywhere! The same in NYC, New York State and all states which have been declared 'non smoking'. It's nonsense! OK, you can't smoke in bars etc and that's good. But to say there are smoking bans (as such) anywhere (apart from San Diego Zoo!) is false. The biggest problem we've had here, in the UK, since the 'smoking ban' became law a couple years ago, has been piles of dog ends littering the streets outside clubs and bars ...
Smoking should be banned. Full stop. Illegal. (But then, you see, if that happened, so much tax revenue would be lost that taxes would have to go up ... and that would make governments all over the world rather unpopular - not to mention all those jobs lost in the factories, tobacco farms etc) But, you can't have it both ways and, if cigarettes continue to be legal to buy, then people will smoke them, even if they look sad, standing outside the Marriott on 6th Avenue, in a thunderstorm! :)

I live in Indiana and the state is not non-smoking. Individual cities or areas are non-smoking, though.
Our city had a major fight about banning smoking in bars, restaurants, public places, and finally passed, but the little town next door didn't so many smokers go there and the non-smoking business owners are not happy. In this case there is no distance at all between cities, one block is in one city, the next in another. Also holds true for the county, they don't have smoking bans, so businesses have gone there, as well.
Slowly but surely folks are getting used to it. I LOVE IT. I'm not one of those fanatics, but I sure enjoy dinner out a lot more now that the ban is in place.

That's interesting what you say, Challiman, about the non-smoking businesses not being happy. I think the biggest impact here has been to our pubs. Many have closed down due to lack of business.
But I don't think anything else has 'suffered' much. I cannot actually remember smoking in a restaurant for years and years (way before any 'official' ban, I don't recall people smoking in restaurants). And certainly, I wasn't allowed to smoke in my work place (rightly so) - an office, oh at least 12 years ago. But, undoubtedly some businesses (pubs) are suffering the consequences. A real culture shock to me was going to Portugal last year - people smoke everywhere - even in the supermarkets!!

Wildblue....
I think in order to level the playing field, bans should be state-wide, though I'd LOVE nation-wide bans. I know some restaurants have claimed business is way down, but I think it takes a little while for people to get used to the ban, and then it can mean increased business when those that couldn't tolerate smoke start dining out again.
Unfortunately, during this economic mess, new smoking bans could really cause a drop in income. I do feel really bad about that. I also feel really bad about people with smoking-related illnesses. Just lost a friend from lung cancer.
I also have mixed feelings about the revenue-generating aspect of tobacco. Cigarette taxes raise a lot of money, but the cigarettes themselves cost a lot of money, in actually buying them, illnesses, fires, etc.
I don't like telling others what to do, but I don't want to be around their smoke, either.
I love going to California when I don't even have to think about the smoking issue.

Thanks, Challiman. We love that non smoking is the norm here in California and consider ourselves fortunate that there is a ban, however it makes us(us, meaning myself and my husband) somewhat intolerant when we visit places that do not have non smoking bans in place, but it has become easier and easier for us to travel outside California as more and more cities, states, and even countries adopt non-smoking policies. I think if the US had federal health services in place for everyone and had to pay for smoke related illnesses, we would see the entire country go smoke-free! I think the costs of smoking related illness outweigh the profits of the tobacco industry, of course I have no stats on that, just a hunch, since I remember a while back one mid western state was suing tobacco companies for their medical costs. Anyone out there, who can help me out on what happened there?

Smoking is banned in Houston too!

When NYC went non-smoking there was a whole bunch of moaning and groaning from the tobacco lobby and smokers that the restaurants and bars would be driven out of business.

Well - none of it happened. Everyone just adapted. And, with the huge increase in the tax on tobacco driving the price of a pack of cigs through the roof - a lot of people have stopped - or cut back on - smoking.

Utah was no-smoking far before CA. It's been over 25 years.