Smoking Ordinance

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Electronic cigarettes, also known as an e-cigarette, personal vaporizer or PV, are exempt from the ordinance.

Smoking is prohibited in the following places:

In workplaces and restaurants;
In most enclosed public places including bowling alleys and bingo parlors;
Within 25 feet of any door, operable window/vent or other opening to an indoor enclosed area; and
In public parks and in outdoor special events.

The following places are excluded from the Smoking Ordinance:

Private residences, except when used as a childcare, adult day care, or health care facility;
Retail tobacco stores with 90% or more of gross revenue derived from tobacco & tobacco products;
Patios which are unenclosed, outside, and associated with a restaurant or bar, provided that the smoking area is at least 10 feet from the defined entry onto the patio and is not a walkway;
In bars that derive 70% or more of the establishment’s gross revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premise consumption, with specific conditions applicable. The establishment is required to report quarterly revenues to the Health Director;
In bars that derive 50% to 70% of the establishment’s gross revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premise consumption, as long as the establishment builds a separate smoking room that does not open into any other establishment or area where smoking is prohibited. The establishment is required to report quarterly revenues to the Health Director (Quarterly Sales Reporting form).

The Smoking Ordinance requires businesses to:

Post “No Smoking” signs at each entryway, front and back, and at restroom entrances and requires smoking places to post a sign indicating that “This is a Smoking Establishment;”
Do not provide ashtrays, lighters, matches, or other smoking paraphernalia, unless smoking is allowed;
Advise any person who is smoking in a non-smoking area that they are in violation of the ordinance; and
If the person willfully continues to smoke, request that they remove themselves from the establishment.

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Richardson, TX