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.