If you want to smoke while you’re gambling in New Orleans, do it before late April. That’s when it will become illegal to smoke real and electronic cigarettes in bars, stadiums, hotels and gambling halls in the city. Mayor Mitch Landrieu recently signed the controversial ordinance that will affect more than 500 bars within the city limits as well as Harrah’s casino , a racino and other large gambling establishments. “I’m really proud to sign this ordinance today,” Landrieu said, flanked by city officials, musician Deacon John Moore and health professionals.
New Orleans was one of the last major U.S. cities where smoking in public places has been tolerated, said the American Lung Association. Smokers still are free to light up in bars, restaurants and public places in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Las Vegas, Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas, Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Florida, Virginia Beach, Virginia and Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“The courage of passing this ordinance has already had resounding effects as numerous other cities in Louisiana and across the U.S. have taken notice,” said Jennifer Cofer of the American Lung Association of the Southeast. Based on New Orleans’ upcoming smoking ban, officials in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana are considering similar legislation. Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and medical professionals recently launched a campaign about smoking’s dangers, and Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards said she would propose a smoking. Lafayette City-Parish Council Chairman Kenneth Boudreaux said he will offer a smoking ban within three months, to protect the health of wait staff, bartenders, musicians and others.
Louisiana already has statewide bans on smoking in restaurants and in public buildings. About 25 percent of adults in the state are smokers, federal data indicate. Nationally, about 18 percent of adults smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
