Smoking Regulations, Tobacco Prevention Programs, Initiative 901

Contents

• Washington State Regulations
• Local Government Regulations
• Prevention Programs
• Smoking in Motor Vehicles When Children Present
• Additional Information Resources

Washington State Regulations

• Washington Clean Indoor Air Act - Ch 70.160 RCW -  Prohibits smoking in public places except in areas designated as smoking areas; amended by Initiative 901.
• Initiative 901 - Prohibited smoking in buildings and vehicles open to the public and places of employment, including areas within 25 feet of doorways and ventilation openings unless a lesser distance is approved; amends Ch. 70.160 RCW; effective December 8, 2005.
• RCW 26.28.080 - Prohibits selling or giving tobacco products to juveniles
• RCW 28A.210.310 - Prohibits use of tobacco products on school property
• Ch. 70.155 RCW - Regulates sale of tobacco products to minors and access of minors to those products

Local Government Regulations 

• Battle Ground Ordinance No. 07-014 ( 71 KB) -  Smoking in Parks, passed 6-07
• Lacey Ordinance No. 1255 ( 149 KB) - Adopts provisions of Initiative 901, passed 12-05
• Mason County Tobacco-Free Policies News Release, 1-13-06
• Olympia Resolution No. 1508 ( 53 KB) - Posting Signs Banning Smoking from Children's Play Areas
• Seattle King County
  • Frequently Asked Questions: Smoking in Public Places and Workplace Law
• • New Law Snuffs Out Smoking at Metro Bus Shelters  - News from King County Department of Transportation
    Release date: Feb. 27, 2006
• Tacoma Pierce County Board of Health - Clean Indoor Air  - Includes variance and smoking shelter application
• Tacoma Resolution No. 35519 ( 60 KB) - Posting Signs in Parks to Refrain from Smoking
• Yakima Health District - Initiative 901 and Tobacco Cessation Services
• Whatcom County Department of Health - Smoke-Free Washington Law

Prevention Programs

• Tobacco Prevention and Control Program - Washington State Department of Health
• Smoke Free Washington - Washington State Department of Health
• Tobacco Free Spokane -  includes Spokane Pilot Tobacco Free Zone Project
• King County Tobacco Prevention Program
• Snohomish Tobacco Prevention and Control

Smoking in Motor Vehicles When Children Present

A number of states are considering or have passed legislation relating to smoking in vehicles when children are present.  In Washington State it is doubtful that a local government could enact provisions restricting smoking in cars without legislative authority.   

• Secondhand Smoke in Cars May Lead to Dangerous Levels of Contaminants For Children  Harvard School of Public Health Press Release October 5, 2006
• Measuring Air Quality to Protect Children from Secondhand Smoke in Cars ( 706 KB) Vaughan W. Rees, PhD, Gregory N. Connolly, DMD, MPH, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, November 2006 
• Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles, by James J. Fazzalaro, Principal Analyst 
   Connecticut General Assembly, OLR Report 2006-R-0727, November 30, 2006
• Bans on Smoking in Vehicles Carrying Children, by Kevin McCarthy, Connecticut Office of Legislative Research (OLR) Report  No. 2008-R-0133,  February 15, 2008
• British Columbia, Canada, Legislative Library of British Columbia, Smoking in Cars with Children ( 99 KB), prepared by Emily Yearwood-Lee  Background Brief 2008: 01 / April 2008 - Summary of laws and proposals in U.S. and Canada
• Bangor, Maine Code of Ordinances Article IX, Section 291-70 - Smoking in Motor Vehicles ( 55 KB), January 8, 2007
• A number of states and provinces have passed legation  prohibiting smoking in vehicles with children including Arkansas, California, Louisiana, and Maine.  A number of Canadian provinces have similar regulations including British Columbia Ontario and Nova Scotia.
  • Arkansas  Act 13, Laws of 2006 First Ex. Sess (HB 1046) ( 40 KB) - An act to protect children restrained in child passenger safety seats in Arkansas from  secondhand smoke; and for other purposes.
  • The Louisiana Act 838 Laws of 2006 ( 11 KB) - Relative to operating motor vehicles; to prohibit the operator or a passenger in a motor vehicle from smoking when children of a certain age are  present
  • Ontario, Canada, Ministry of  Health Promotion  Smoke Free Ontario - A law prohibiting Ontarians from smoking in motor vehicles with passengers under 16 went  into effect on January 21, 2009
    

Additional Information Resources

• The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, June 27, 2006
• Smoking and Tobacco Use - Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• Tobacco Prevention and Control - National Association of County and City Health Officials, Programs & Activities / Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
• Organizations
  • American Lung Association
  • Americans for Non-Smoker's Rights
  • Tobacco Prevention and Control  Partners -  National Association of County and City Health Officials