Indoor smoking is completely banned at 27 of the US’s 35 busiest airports, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation. Soon, it will be 28. Well, almost.
The Denver Internaitonal Airport, currently among the few if not the only public building in Colorado where indoor smoking lounges are still legal, is on its way to becoming smoke-free.
Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock announced that lease-holders for three of the four smoking lounges at Denver airport have agreed to snuff out smoking in those lounges by the end of this year and remodel or replace them with non-smoking concessions.
The fourth Denver place to smoke will be "shut down sooner than later," according to airport officials.
Such major airports as John F. Kennedy International and Chicago O’Hare as well as others have eliminated smoking in the past few years.
Smokers can still puff away in Atlanta, according to wire service reports. They can also find places to light up at Dulles International Airport and at airports in Tampa, Memphis, Salt Lake City and several other cities.
Some of these smoking areas are simply small, ventilated spaces; others are inside a restaurant or bar that may require a minimum purchase.
By David Wilkening
