Fort Worth Bans Smoking at Bars

In an 8-1 vote, the Fort Worth City Council voted to ban smoking at bars in the north Texas city, meaning smoking is outlawed at bars in every major city across the state.

Effective March 12, smoking will be banned inside bars and bingo parlors, the second city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to take such actions this year.

Smoking will still be allowed on patios of bars and restaurants, as well as within cigar shops, cigar lounges and private clubs.

The ordinance defines as a cigar lounge as a place “where at least 30 percent of its gross annual sales” is tobacco and where persons under the age of 18 are not permitted. That language will allow cigar bars to continue to operate within the city so long as they are either in a standalone building or have proper ventilation.

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 have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.