The new smoke-free law officially takes
effect today in an effort to make all public places and workplaces smoke-free
environments statewide.
According to a press release from the
Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy, the law will “protect all
people from exposure to secondhand smoke in all enclosed public places of
employment.”
The new law, which won in a vote of 66% to 33% in November, states that enclosed public
places can no longer allow smoking indoors. This public places include:
restaurants, bars, truck stops, guest rooms and common areas within hotels and
motels, healthcare facilities, long-term care centers, assisted living centers,
retail tobacco stores, hookah establishments, workplace vehicles and licensed
gaming facilities.
According the press release, businesses
are also required to remove ashtrays from smoke free areas and post no-smoking
signs inside buildings and at all entrances, as the law states that smoking is
no longer permitted within 20 feet of entrances, exits, windows and ventilation
systems.
People were still able to smoke in The
Buff in Jamestown on Wednesday, but the establishment has been cleaned and the “smoke
smell” removed as of today.
Some businesses in Jamestown, including
The Wonder Bar and The Buff, expect the smoking ban to hurt the business bit at first, as most of them report that a good majority of their
patrons smoke, but hope that people will return and new customers will come in
as the smoking and non-smoking customers get used to the ban.
Dodgson also hopes that the ban will
make it easier for him to find employees, as their work environment becomes
smoke-free.
As all businesses make the necessary
adjustments, some, like this lounge owner in Fargo, look to get around the ban,
though it may seem to be a fruitless effort for the F-M area’s 12% that smoke.
In a country that is legalizing marijuana for recreational use, this smoking ban comes as a surprise to many. As smoking cigarettes is a legal activity, many argue that the policy seems backwards as so many other activities become legally and publicly accepted.
