It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending the City Code, Chapter 29.5, "Smoking," to prohibit smoking in bars and bingo parlors, prohibit retail smoke shops within 300 feet of schools, universities and hospitals, and to amend and adopt certain definitions, and providing the ordinance to be effective within 90 days of adoption.

In 2007 (effective 2008), the City Council approved Ordinance No. 17719 prohibiting smoking in most public places, such as: restaurants, bars in restaurants, business and office buildings, as well as within 20 feet of a primary entrance/exit of a regulated facility.


The 2007 ordinance allowed smoking in the following places with some restrictions:

•    Bars – defined as "establishments that are licensed by the State and that have more than 70 percent of their annual gross sales in alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests on the premises. Calculation of gross sales shall be made from the combined sale of food and beverages. Restaurants that contain a bar are not considered a "bar."
•    Hotel/Motel Rooms – but only up to 25 percent of the total number of rooms in the Hotel-Motel rented to guests may be designated as smoking rooms.
•    Private Clubs – to mean an associated group of persons that are members governed by a board of representatives, and the facility which the club owns, leases or rents for the benefit of its members and guests.
•    Private Meeting Rooms in Public Places – as long as the entire room remains private and is not open to the general public.
•    Outdoor Dining Areas – as long as the area is more than 20 feet from the primary entrance or from operable windows.
•    Outdoor Service Lines – more than 20 feet from a primary entrance/exit.
•    Retail Tobacco Stores – if the store is a stand-alone facility and its primary business is the sale of tobacco products and accessories.

Currently, the City of Fort Worth is one of the last major cities in Texas that still allows for smoking in bars and does not address electronic cigarettes. Stakeholders such as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and Blue Zone Project Fort Worth have requested that the City Council revise the City's Smoking regulations, and now staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance which would  prohibit smoking in bars and bingo parlors and prohibit retail smoke shops within 300 feet of schools, universities and hospitals. Furthermore, the ordinance would make the following definition amendments:

• Delete the definition of Bar, Bingo Parlor and Restaurant to allow for consistency with zoning regulations.
• Include the words bar and bingo parlors in the list of enclosed areas which are defined as Public Places.
• Revise Retail Tobacco Store to be Retail Smoke Shop and require that 90% of its gross annual sales be from tobacco, smoking, e-cigarette or related products and accessories with no onsite consumption of alcohol allowed.
• Adopt definitions for Electronic Smoking Device and Private Club to be consistent with "Smoke Free" cities.
• Provide for a definition of Cigar Lounge to be an establishment which 30% of its gross annual sales come from the onsite consumption of cigars and cigar accessories, and  restricted to individuals 18 years of age and above.
• Allow for Retail Smoke Shops and Cigar Lounges to provide for an air ventilation system as an alternative to being a stand alone facility.
• Clarify that smoking is still allowed in outdoor dining areas or patios of public places provided the area where smoking is permitted is 20 feet away from entrances and exits.

The new regulations shall be effective 90 days from the date the ordinance is adopted.