Smoke-Free Law Information Sessions To Be Held

Two information sessions have been scheduled to inform you about the new smoke-free law.

A question and answer session is scheduled at the VFW in Winamac on Thursday, June 21 from 2 to 3 p.m. ET and, later that evening, a town hall meeting will be held at 6 p.m. CT at the Bass Lake Community Center. Representatives from the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission of the Indiana State Department of Health, the Starke County and Pulaski County Health Departments, along with Fulton and Marshall Counties, will discuss what the law covers, who to contact with questions, who enforces the law, and who to contact with complaints.

The Indiana Smoke Free Air Law takes effect July 1, and smoking is prohibited in most public places and places of employment including hotels and motels, movie theaters, bowling alleys, healthcare facilities, nursing homes, mental health facilities, assisted living facilities, and most other public places. The law also prohibits smoking within eight feet of a public entrance of any of those facilities and signage must be shown to notify patrons of that requirement. Smoking is also prohibited in all state-owned vehicles and school buses.

However, smoking is permitted in the following establishments: a horse-racing facility, a riverboat, a facility with a gambling game license, a satellite-gaming facility, cigar bars, hookah bars, certain fraternal clubs, a retail-tobacco store, and a bar or tavern meeting certain requirements.

All of this and a lot more will be discussed Thursday during both sessions.