No Smoking allow in NYC:

To report any bar, restaurant, club you can call 311 or 877-NYC-DOH7.

or report them online at http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/smoke/smoke-complaint.html

Smoke-free Air Act Complaint Form

What businesses are affected?
The law, which goes into effect on March 30, 2003, makes virtually all establishments and businesses
with employees smoke-free. These include:
• All office buildings, factories, and warehouses.
• All private offices and previously designated “smoking lounges.”
• All food service establishments, restaurants, and catering halls.
• All bars, including bars in restaurants.
• Membership associations.
• All areas of theatres.
• Banks, educational and health care facilities, and child day care centers.
• Shopping malls and retail stores (where goods are sold or rented to the public).
• Sports arenas, roller and ice skating rinks, billiard parlors, bingo halls, bowling establishments,
and other similar places.
• Public transportation facilities, reception areas, and waiting rooms.
To comply with the new law:
1. Update your workplace smoking policy to reflect the new law.
2. Talk with your customers and employees about the law and prepare them for the coming
changes.
3. Discuss the new law with employees including what they should do to comply with the law:
• Request any person smoking to refrain from smoking inside the workplace.
• Refer to the law and to workplace policy when dealing with refusals to not smoke in the workplace.
Remind them that the business or building owner may be assessed fines for infractions.
• Request staff to report problems directly to the management or owner of the business, or to
the building’s management.
4. Post “no smoking” signs at all entrances as required including bathrooms, stairwells on
each floor, bulletin boards, and other prominent places.
5. Remove all ashtrays from the premises as required.
6. Contact the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for additional information,
to register a complaint, and for compliance support at 1-877-NYC-DOH-7 (1-877-692-3647). In
addition, the Department’s website at nyc.gov/health will be updated with the most current
information.

Exceptions

The new law defines rare exceptions to the smoke-free policy, including:
• Tobacco bars that were in existence on December 31, 2001, that sell or rent tobacco products
and devices, and that derive 10% or more of their income from these sales or rentals;
• Owner-operated bars where there are no employees and where there are three or fewer
principal owners who each hold at least a 25% interest; and
• Non-profit membership associations with no employees.
All of the above facilities must apply for an exemption and register with the New York City
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
• Bars with small, separately ventilated enclosed smoking rooms, built for the exclusive purpose
of smoking. Bar owners wishing to construct such rooms must register and file plans
with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department
of Buildings. These rooms must:
— Have separate ventilation systems that exhaust air to an outdoor area at least 25 feet
away from outdoor dining areas, working windows, doors, and heating and air conditioning
vents;
— Maintain continuous negative pressure to prevent the flow of smoke into other parts
of the establishment; and
— Not permit any employee to enter while it is in use.
Note: Separate smoking rooms in bars will no longer be permitted after January 2, 2006.
• In any restaurant, smoking is limited to 25% of seating in one outdoor dining area. An
outdoor dining area is defined as one with no roof, overhang, or other ceiling enclosure.
• Residential and certain day treatment health care facilities may provide smoking rooms
for some patients.

Each violation will be subject to fines.
First violation: Civil penalties of not less than $200 and not more than $400.
Second violation (within 12 months of the first violation): Civil penalties of not less than $500
and not more than $1,000.
Third or subsequent violation (within 12 months of the first violation): Civil penalties of not less
than $1,000 and not more than $2,000.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene may suspend or revoke the
permit of an establishment that is found in violation of the law on three separate occasions
within a 12-month period.
Enforcement

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Food Safety and
Community Sanitation is responsible for enforcement of the law as part of its current inspection
operations. Inspections may also be performed in response to complaints. Enforcement
begins on March 30, 2003, when the law goes into effect.
Owner-operated bars, membership associations, and tobacco bars must apply for and register as
exempt entities with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene after the regulations implementing
the amended law become effective. Instructions for applying for an exemption will soon
be available on the Department’s website at nyc.gov/health.
About the law

Local Law 47, the New York City Smoke-Free Air Act,
was signed into law on December 30, 2002. The Act
makes virtually all workplaces in the City of New York
smoke-free, including many places where smoking had
previously been permitted. All work sites are required to
develop, distribute and post their smoke-free policy, in
accordance with the law, which becomes effective on
March 30, 2003.

 

For the updates about complying with the law, check the Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene’s website at nyc.gov/health.
 
Why the law is needed
Tobacco use is the leading epidemic of our time, killing
more than 440,000 people nationwide each year. In
2002, approximately 1,000 New Yorkers died because of
exposure to second-hand smoke.
THE CITY OF NEW YORK
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE
Michael R. Bloomberg Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH
Mayor Commissioner
nyc.gov/health