The City of New Orleans enacts a smoke-free work place policy (including bars and gaming facilities).
FACTS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS ORDINANCE
The passage of a policy in New Orleans to make all workplaces smoke-free—including all bars and casinos—represents an exciting turning point for public health in Louisiana. The New Orleans smoke-free ordinance (New Orleans City Code Chapter 66, Article II), effective April 22, 2015, prohibits smoking in all enclosed public places of employment, including all bars and gaming facilities. New Orleans is now among national leaders in an effort to protect Americans from the dangers of secondhand smoke, moving forward no one in our great city will have to choose between their health and a paycheck.
New Orleans Smoke-Free Ordinance Eliminates Smoking or Vaping Use in
- Bars
- Restaurants
- Casinos and other gambling facilities
- Hotels and motels
- Workplaces
- Schools (preschool to post-secondary)
- Private clubs
- Common areas of multi-unit housing, including apartment complexes and condos
- Buildings and vehicles owned, leased, occupied, or operated by the City or State
- Prisons and other correctional facilities
- Most other public places (enclosed by two or more walls/barriers)
- Examples: hospitals, health clinics, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, museums, galleries, public buses and street cars, retail stores, retail service businesses, sports arenas, and theaters
Smoking and Vaping use prohibited outdoors in
- Workplaces, such as construction sites
- In and within 5 feet of Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza on Loyola Avenue
- In and within 5 feet of Lafayette Square
- Sports arenas, stadiums, amphitheaters, and recreational areas with playground equipment
- Prohibition does not apply when these venues are used for concerts, fairs, farmers markets, festivals, and parades
- Bleachers and grandstands for use by spectators at sporting events
- State law prohibits smoking within 25 feet of public entrances and wheelchair ramps of office buildings owned by the State and within 200 feet of entrances, exits, and outdoor areas of elementary and secondary schools.
HOW TO COMPLY
Business Owners/Employers
- Post "No Smoking" and "No Vaping" signs
- Ashtrays must be removed where smoking and vaping is prohibited
- Ask individuals smoking or vaping on the premises to stop
- If an individual does not stop, refuse service and ask the individual to leave the premises
- Visit nola.gov/smokefree for a free Business Toolkit to assist with implementation
Patron or Employee
- Do not smoke or vape in any area where smoking or vaping is prohibited
Non-Compliance
Noncompliance may be reported to the Health Department by completing a Smoke-Free Ordinance Complaint Form. Individuals will be able to obtain the form by visiting nola.gov/smokefree, by calling 311 or calling toll-free at 877-286-6431. Operators for 311 calls will be available Monday — Friday, 8am — 5pm, and complainants will have the option to leave a message at night and on weekends.
Those in noncompliance may be subject to the following penalties:
Business Owners/Managers/Employers
- Up to $100 for first violation
- Up to $200 for second violation in a 12-month period
- Up to $500 for the third and subsequent violations in a 12-month period
- Violation may also result in suspension or revocation of any permit or license issued for the premises on which the violation occurred
Individuals:
- Up to $50 for each violation or community service
QUITTING RESOURCES
The Louisiana Tobacco Quitline provides free and confidential counseling by Certified Quit Coaches to Louisiana residents ages 13+ who are ready to quit smoking. Counseling is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in English, Spanish and 150 other languages. For more information call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit QuitWithUsLA.org.
The Smoking Cessation Trust offers free medications, group and individual counseling, and quitline coaching to Louisiana residents who started smoking cigarettes before September 1, 1988 and want to quit. For more information call 1-855-259-6346 or visit SmokingCessationTrust.org.
The LSU Tobacco Control Initiative offers free or low-cost services to all Louisiana public hospital patients, employees, and surrounding communities, including individual and group counseling and cessation medication. For more information call 504-903-5059 or visit http://sph.lsuhsc.edu/tci or LSUHospitals.org/cmo/hcet/5tob.htm.
The American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking Online is a program that provides information and support to help smokers quit. For more information visit http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/how-to-quit/freedom-from-smoking/
Please contact Lauren Conrad at 504-301-9853 or lconrad@lphi.org if you have any additional questions or need more information.
