I’m old enough to remember when people were allowed to smoke pretty much anywhere. But over the years, those involved in science and medicine have discovered how bad smoking and even breathing in secondhand smoke can be harmful. And with that, smoking has been banned in most public places, usually via state, county or city ordinances.
Anyway, I was perusing the internet and can you believe that as recently as September, 2021, Charleston International Airport (CHS) had finally gone smoke and vape free. As a non-smoker, I was certainly happy to read that, but I was also surprised that it was still allowing smoking.
PC: Ivan Radic / flickr / CC BY 2.0 DEED
After some research, I discovered that CHS had actually banned indoor smoking in 2006 (although, for a time, smoking was still allowed in airline club rooms, which were considered “non-public areas, as per an ABC News report in 2009). Lighting up curbside at the terminal entrance was initially still allowed, but that eventually was updated to specific smoking areas. But in 2015, airport employees weren’t allowed to smoke anywhere on airport property, even in the designated smoking areas. And now there’s no smoking on CHS property, period.
But that got me thinking – how many U.S. airports still allow smoking in this day and age? And where?
It turns out there are two kinds of “non-smoking” policies when it comes to airports:
No Smoking On Property
There aren’t very many airports that have banned smoking on their property entirely. CHS is one of them, as is Indianapolis Airport (IND).
No Smoking Indoors
PC: Steve Jurvetson / flickr / CC BY 2.0 DEED
The vast majority of airports don’t allow smoking indoors whatsoever but have designated smoking sections outside. Those can vary from anywhere outside to only in specific places outdoors.
American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation maintains and regularly updates a list of these airports.
Airports that allow indoor smoking
When airports began to prohibit smoking in indoor public areas (not even at bars), some developed “smoking rooms.” Depending on local laws, they were allowed, usually only if the ventilation systems allowed the smoke to leave the building without infiltrating the rest of the building.
Over the years, the list of airports that had these designated indoor smoking areas has dwindled considerably.
Here are the handful of airports in the U.S. that still have such smoking rooms and smoking lounges, as per the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation:
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- Florida: Miami International Airport (MIA) – Smoking is permitted in an “open air” atrium, which has four walls and a roof with a gap at the roofline, that is attached to the airport’s TGI Fridays restaurant.
- Nevada: Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) – Smoking is permitted in the Barney’s Lounge (C gates), the Budweiser Racing Track Lounge in the Esplanade Pre-Security area, enclosed gaming lounges (B, C, D, and E Gates), and designated outdoor areas near ticketing and baggage claim. The airport was smokefree indoors from 12/2006 until 8/2010 by Nevada law. Smoking is permitted in the bar because it stopped serving food, and Nevada law stipulates that smoking is permitted in bars that do not serve food. Smoking is permitted in enclosed slot-machine lounges because they have been designated as gaming floors, which are exempt from Nevada law.
- Tennessee: Nashville International Airport (BNA) – Smoking is permitted in two Graycliff Boutique & Lounge (with purchase) locations: on Concourse B near Gate B10 and on Concourse C near Gate C10.
What about vapes & e-cigarettes?
Nope. Of the top 35 airports in the country, the 32 that don’t allow smoking indoors consider themselves “completely smoke-free” indoors. That would suggest no vaping either.
Feature Photo: Pxfuel
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