Dallas extends smoking ban

Good for them.

Smoking will soon be illegal in Dallas bars, billiard halls and most other workplaces as the Dallas City Council [Wednesday] afternoon voted 10-5 to expand the city's municipal smoking ordinance.

The vote came after a more than four-hour debate on whether to expand Dallas' smoking ordinance, with council members offering 11 separate amendments -- only one passed -- to the main expansion proposal.

The ordinance will allow existing tobacco shops, as well as established cigar and hookah bars, to continue operating unfettered. Cigar and hookah bars must earn 15 percent of their revenue from tobacco or tobacco product sales to be considered such under city law. Outdoor patios also remain exempt from the expanded law.

People or businesses found violating the city's expanded ordinance face a $200 fine.

Sounds awfully similar to Houston's law, and last I checked the world had not come to an end. I believe we'll see another push for a statewide ban in the next legislative session, and with more and more cities adopting their own ordinances, I think there may be the momentum to carry it through this time. Previous entry on this here.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on December 14, 2008 to The great state of Texas