New Orleans has a smoking ban. This morning, the New Orleans City Council took up the hotly contested issue of whether or not to ban smoking in the majority of enclosed areas in the Big Easy, including bars, restaurants and casinos. After a flurry of amendments, discussion and public comments, the council unanimously passed the ban 7-0. There are exemptions for cigar bars for retail tobacco stores and a limited amount of hotel rooms, as well as a narrow definition of private events, but the days of New Orleans having a laissez-faire attitude toward smoking are over. The ban comes just a few months ahead of the cigar industry convening on New Orleans for the 83rd annual IPCPR Convention & Trade Show in July. How this new ban will affect that event and the related dinners, parties and other events remains to be seen; while there appear to be provisions to allow smoking for tobacco and vaping business conventions, the effect of the ban will be felt once the convention lights are turned off and attendees head to restaurants, bars, nightclubs and other venues. Before the vote, a flurry of amendments were proposed, so many that there were calls to have the carved ...
↧