You’ll be hard pressed to find a place to smoke indoors in the northern part of West Virginia today, as smoking bans are now in place in both Brooke and Hancock counties. It’s been nearly a year since Hancock County, the state’s smallest and northernmost, passed its ban. The county board of health voted 5-0 in August 2014 to ban smoking in all public indoor areas, including tobacco stores, parks, bars, private clubs and all hotels and motels, as well as some outdoor areas. Brooke County passed its ban in November 2014 and also makes smoking illegal in all indoor businesses, including all bars, restaurants and video gaming establishments. The ban is also being applied to outdoor fairs and festivals. Collectively, the two counties are home to approximately 54,000 residents.
↧