New York -- Voters in three states -- Nevada, Arizona, and Ohio -- yesterday approved smoking bans in public buildings, bringing to 17 the number of states in which meeting attendees must step outside event venues to light up.
In Nevada, the smoking ban applies to restaurants and bars that serve meals but not to the gambling areas of casinos. The Clean Indoor Air Act, which goes into effect Nov. 17, also permits local governments to enact tougher smoking bans.
In Arizona, the Smoke-Free Arizona law bans smoking in virtually all indoor public places as of May 1, 2007. Like Nevada, it permits localities to enact tougher anti-smoking measures. The voters additionally approved an excise tax of two cents per pack to enforce the ban.
In Ohio, that state's SmokeFree Ohio measure bans smoking in virtually all public buildings. The law takes effect Dec. 7.
The voters in all three states rejected competing measures that would either enact more lenient smoking bans or ensure smokers' rights.
The win for the anti-smoking forces in yesterday's elections -- statewide measures against public, indoor smoking appeared only in Nevada, Arizona, and Ohio -- suggests that the movement to ban smoking inside public buildings is gaining momentum.
"Yesterday's decisive wins for smoke-free workplace laws send a clear message to policymakers across the country that it is time for every state to be smoke-free," John Kirkwood, president of the American Lung Association, which opposes smoking, said today.
"Smoke-free laws are overwhelmingly popular with the public," Kirkwood continued, adding, " In 2004, Zagat, publisher of restaurant and leisure guides for locations around the world, found that restaurant-goers in New York City were eating out more because of the smoke-free law."
Under the new laws, proprietors who permit illegal smoking in their establishments face fines that range from $100 per violation in Nevada up to $500 in Arizona and up to $2,500 in Ohio. Individuals who violate the bans face fines of up to $100 per violation in Nevada and Ohio and up to $300 in Arizona.
In addition to the outright bans, South Dakota voters approved a ballot measure that increases cigarette taxes by $1 per pack. Voters in California and Missouri rejected tax increases on cigarettes.
Like other states that have already enacted smoking bans, the new anti-smoking laws do not apply to hotel guest rooms except in Arizona, where the new law bans smoking in half the rooms of every hotel and motel. Earlier this year, however, both Westin Hotels, which is a brand of Starwood Hotels, and Marriott International banned smoking throughout their hotels in the United States.
The other states that have enacted smoking bans in public buildings are the following: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington. Smoking bans are also in effect in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
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