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Tobacco-Free O’ahu
In 1997, the Honolulu City Council took a big step in protecting worker health by passing legislation that provided smoke-free workplace protection in all workplaces on O’ahu, except for restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Most recently, in February 2002, the Council passed a bill amending the law to include restaurants as smoke-free workplaces, effective July 1, 2002. The smoke-free law now covers all workplaces, numerous public places, restaurants, and bars within restaurants. Areas that remain exempt from the current law include open air areas of restaurants, which must be separated from the indoor dining area by a solid floor-to-ceiling wall or at least 10 feet of space, stand-alone bars, and nightclubs.
Other places covered by the law include hotels except individual hotel rooms, elevators, museums, libraries, galleries, hospitals, auditoriums, movie theatres, schools, banks, retail stores, food courts, rest rooms, and common areas in apartment buildings. Also covered are public parks and recreations areas including but not limited to: Honolulu Zoo, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Koko Crater Botanical Garden, and Waikiki Shell.
The coalition serving people interested in tobacco control issue son Oahu is Tobacco-Free Oahu. They focus on helping increase awareness about tobcco issues, reduce smoking rates by increasing access to and knowledge of ways to quit, and helping reduce exposure to secondhand smoke by helping implement policy and social norms changes.
