The law prohibits smoking in all businesses, except for membership clubs, bars, casinos, and retail tobacco shops. This is to help protect against secondhand smoke which contains 4,000 chemicals, including at least 69 carcinogens.
Enforcement of the Smoke-Free Air Law Has Not Been an Issue
Smoke-Free Air Law Soon to Celebrate One-Year Anniversary
Gus Ress, owner of Kostas Restaurant in Winamac, said the law took some getting used to but they have adjusted, and the customers have too.
No Complaints Burning Over Statewide Smoking Ban
The state-wide smoking ban has been in effect for 11 days now and there have been no complaints issued to the Starke County Health Department or the Pulaski County Health Department. The county health departments are responsible for enforcement of the smoking law for all businesses, while the State Excise Police enforces businesses that sell alcohol and tobacco.
Starke County Health Nurse Frank Lynch said he’s been to a few businesses to check on their smoke-free status and he has received a few phone calls with questions concerning the law. For those businesses that have not received a business kit, there are kits available in Lynch’s office.
Terri Hansen from the Pulaski County Health Department says that her department has gotten a few calls, but she feels the two informational meetings held in June prior to the law change helped inform business owners and residents. If you have questions, you can view the smoking ban information on the state’s website at www.in.gov.
Town of North Judson To Draft No-Tobacco Ordinance
The Town of North Judson has announced that it is in compliance with the new smoke-free air law as required by the state, but the town board has announced plans to draft their own, more stringent no-tobacco policy.
Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says that the ordinance would not only prevent smoking, but all use of tobacco where smoking is prohibited. She says the ordinance would include park shelters because they are currently not covered by the state law, which only applies to enclosed structures. The board is interested in including these shelters in the no-tobacco policy because they feel the shelters are there for people to enjoy, and the board feels they have the right to enjoy them without having to tolerate tobacco smoke close to them.
The board will soon have the ordinance drafted and then read for approval at an upcoming meeting.
Henry says the board also commended the town’s street department on the good job they did over the weekend in cleaning up brush and debris from last weekend’s storms.
Smoking To Be Prohibited On Starke County Government Campuses
The Starke County Commissioners at their recent meeting approved a motion prohibiting smoking on all Starke County government building campuses – this but one day after the state’s new smoke-free air law took effect, prohibiting smoking in most businesses throughout Indiana. Smoking will not be allowed on the properties of the annex building, courthouse, jail, county highway garage, ambulance garages, and other county-owned buildings.
The minimum state provisions for the new smoke-free air law require all non-exempt buildings to post signs prohibiting smoking within eight feet of any entrance, but the commissioners’ motion prohibits smoking on the property as a whole and requires smokers to travel as far as the sidewalk to light up.
Statewide Smoking Ban Effective Tomorrow
The statewide smoking ban takes effect tomorrow.
House Enrolled Act 1149 bans smoking from restaurants, hotels and motels, movie theaters, bowling alleys, healthcare facilities, nursing homes, mental health facilities, assisted living facilities, and most other workplaces. The law also prohibits smoking within eight feet of a public entrance of any of those facilities.
Smoke-Free Information Session Clears The Air
An information session regarding the new statewide smoking ban was held last night at the Bass Lake Community Center, and the more than fifty people that attended learned not just what the law covers, but what procedures need to be followed in order for businesses that qualify for an exemption to receive one.
Smoke-Free Law Information Session To Be Held Today
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the new statewide smoking ban will be presented in an informational session today from 2 – 3 p.m. ET at the Winamac VFW, and a town hall meeting will take place at the Bass Lake Community Center at 6 p.m.
Attendees will be educated about the new law, how it affects all businesses in Starke and Pulaski Counties and any questions will be answered. On July 1, most Indiana businesses will be required to be smoke-free and to post signs indicating that it is a smoke-free facility. Smoking will not be allowed in places of employment, public places, state-owned vehicles and school buses.
