KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, LouisianaJust Where Can You Smoke?

Just Where Can You Smoke?

January 9, 2007
Reported by Vince Atkinson

It is a law that has only been in effect for a little over a week now, but it is already causing wide spread confusion.   We are talking about the new Louisiana Smoke Free Air Act.   The law seems fairly straight forward.  Simply put, it bans smoking in places like public buildings, hospitals, schools and restaurants, but the new law does seem to leave some gray area for interpretation.   The gray area centers around bars that also have a license to serve food.   Already, several of these local establishments have been slapped with citations.    

The Sports Pit in Lake Charles has been open for years without incident, but that was up until recently.   According to the Sports Pit co-owner Hardy Busby, he just recived a citiation.   The ticket was given to Busby for allowing his customers to smoke.   According to the Louisiana Smoke Free Air Act, lighting up in bars and casinos is permitted.   So why ticket establishments like the Sports Pit?  It could be that they also serve food.

Mark Kraus with the Lake Charles Police Department said, "In each case that we receive, we are going to have to investigate it to see if it complies with the restrictions provided by this statue."  Even the Lake Charles City Council is preparing to make some adjustments.   City Attorney Billy Loften said, "An agenda item to repeal the smoking ordinance that the city adopted January of last year."  The city is making this move in order to fall in line with the new state wide law.   A law that has left a lot of people in a haze when it comes to pinning down the specifics and figuring out just where you can and can not light up.  Busby said, "Like the state trooper said, according to them I have to allow people to smoke in here because of the video poker, but yet the other law says I can't have smoking in here if I serve food.   We are just trying to comply with the law."     

If you are a business owner that still has questions about the new smoking ban you can get some answers.   On January 22,  a meeting will be held at the Calcasieu Parish Health Unit in Lake Charles to help clean the air on the new law.   From 8 AM to 9 AM the meeting will focus on restaurants.   9 AM to 10 AM will be geared toward schools.  The next hour will be for general businesses, and from 11 AM to 12 PM the meeting will help law enforcement understand the specific details surrounding the new smoking ban.