Augusta, Ga. Passes Expanded Smoking Ban

Effective next year, smoking will be banned in bars, most public buildings and all buildings and enclosed areas owned by the city.

There are conflicting reports whether the measure passed 6-3 or 6-4—and the Augusta City Council website is down—but the measure is largely the same as the one approved earlier this month. The one change is the effective date, now Jan. 1, 2019 as opposed to 30 days after the second reading.

There are some exceptions—including e-cigarettes and hookah bars—however, cigar stores were not explicitly mentioned, though it seems likely the ban does not apply.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I handle the editing of our written content, the majority of the technical aspects of the site and work with the rest of our staff on content management, business development and more. I’ve lived in most corners of the country and now entering my second stint in Dallas, Texas. I enjoy boxing, headphones, the Le Mans 24-hour, wearing sweatshirts year-round and gyros. echte liebe.