SMOKE FREE PLACES IN INDIANAPOLIS INCLUDE . . .
- All enclosed areas within places of employment.
- Elevators, health care facilities, laundromats and licensed child care and adult day care facilities.
- Restrooms, lobbies, reception areas, hallways and other common-use areas.
- Polling places, shopping malls and sports arenas.
- Lobbies, hallways and enclosed areas in common areas in apartment buildings, condominiums, trailer parks, retirement facilities, nursing homes and other multiple-unit residential facilities.
- Public transportation facilities, including, but not limited to, buses and taxicabs and ticket, boarding and waiting areas of public transit depots.
- All vehicles and enclosed areas of buildings owned, leased or operated by the city or the county.
PLACES WHERE SMOKING IS STILL ALLOWED IN INDIANAPOLIS INCLUDE . . .
- Private residences, except when used as a licensed child care, adult day care or health care facility.
- Family-owned and operated businesses and offices in which all employees are related to the owner, but only if the businesses or offices are not open to the public.
- Retail tobacco stores, tobacco bars and bowling alleys.
- Any vehicle used by an employee while in the service of an employer when the vehicle is occupied only by the employee.
- Any bar or tavern that:
- Does not allow customers under eighteen (18) years of age to enter;
- Does not employ any person under eighteen (18) years of age; and
- Is not physically located within a business otherwise required to be smoke free.
- Any "club" or "fraternal club" that:
- Is exempt from federal income taxation;
- Holds a beer, liquor or wine retailer's permit under the state’s law; and
- Provides food or alcoholic beverages only to its bona fide members and their guests.
though i am currently a smoker, i'm not sure this ban will affect me very much. it's been many months since i had a cigarette in a restaurant (my girlfriend wouldn't allow it, and i can usually wait until the meal is finished and we've left, except in situations where we're sitting in the restaurant for hours on end. i have difficulty sitting still for more than 2 hours in a stretch). and the ban was watered down enough that it doesn't outright ban smoking in bars (not that i go to bars all that often when i'm not performing or attending a show, but when you're a smoker it's damned hard not to smoke when you drink) or outside (i don't care how good the health arguments are; banning outdoor smoking strikes me as absurd).
and honestly, on the smoking front, getting laid off could be a good thing. i don't particularly want to be a smoker, but i've never had the motivation to try to quit, because i know it's very difficult. instead i've been gradually cutting back. when i'm at home or someplace like virago's apartment where i need to step outside to smoke, i can easily go a couple hours without a cigarette, even 3 to 4 hours if things aren't too stressful. but here at the office, i have scheduled my whole workday around cigarette breaks. i don't even crave the nicotine as much as i crave (and have come to expect) the regular breaks to get away from my desk and go outside. i've been addicted the the workplace diversion. now that i'm leaving (my last actual day in-office is thursday), that routine will be very easy to break. i'm still not ready to actually quit (i probably have a lot of stress ahead in the coming months), but i'll be in better shape to quit when i'm ready, and one of the primary factors that has made me hesitant to try quitting has been removed.
anyway, if you live in the indy area and you just love smoking in restaurants or at bus stops, you only have a couple more days to enjoy your vice. if you're one of those people who so hates smoke that you rarely go out to eat, maybe you should go out to dinner on wednesday to celebrate.¶
