A new smoking ban will be coming to Atlanta, Ga. in the new year, as this week Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms signed a piece of legislation that was passed by the city council 13-2 earlier this month to prohibit smoking in a number of public places throughout the city.

Included in the ban are restaurants, bars, workplaces, city-owned and/or operated facilities, hotel and motel rooms and the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which is one of a handful of airports to have smoking rooms and even a cigar lounge, operated under the Terrapin Brewing name.

However, a number of establishments received exemptions to the ban, including cigar lounges and bars as well as other tobacco and vape stores, along with private clubs. Other similar establishments that prohibit minors from entering and get at least 20 percent of their annual gross revenue, or $250,000, from tobacco product sales, could also receive an exemption. Smoking and vaping will also remain permissible in the outdoor areas of bars and restaurants.

The ban will go into effect on Jan. 2, 2020.

Atlanta is both the capitol of and most populous city in Georgia, with nearly 500,000 residents.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.