LA County Bans Smoking in the Proximity of Bars, Restaurants, and Food Carts

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors placed some serious restrictions on where people can smoke in unincorporated Los Angeles. In less than 30 days, the new smoking ban will prohibit nicotine and cannabis smokers from lighting up within 25 feet of outdoor seating for local bars and restaurants, and within 40 feet of any street food vendors.

Supervisor Sheila Keuhl led the charge, which will affect 825 restaurants throughout Southern California. According to NBC-4, the motion was adopted to cover all bases, including as-yet developed technology for future nicotine, cannabis, tobacco, and e-cigarette products. Tuesday’s vote is a follow-up to an October motion, which updated the ordinance to include e-cigarettes and cannabis.

It is already illegal to smoke adjacent to restaurants and bars, but the ban will place a new considerable distance between smokers and bars/restaurants, county buildings, parking lots, and parks in unincorporated LA.

More than 65 percent of Los Angeles County exists in the massive unincorporated Southland, but excludes areas like the City of Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Kuehl seeks to limit exposure to secondhand smoke, which Long Beach started doing a year ago. If caught, fines range from $10 to $100 for smoking in a posted no-smoking area.

• LA County Expands Ban on Smoking in Unincorporated Areas, Includes E-Cigarettes, Cannabis [ELA]