Healthy Savannah

Click the questions below for answers about the Savannah Smokefree Air Act of 2010.

What is the Savannah Smokefree Air Act of 2010?
How is this law helpful to me?
What is secondhand smoke?
Where is smoking NOT allowed?
Where is smoking prohibited outdoors?
Are there any exceptions?
What about other types of smoking?
Should signs be posted?
How can I get more information about the City of Savannah Smoke-free Ordinance of 2010?


More information about the Smokefree Air Act:

City of Savannah Smokefree Air Ordinance brochures and Business Guide:
Breathe Easy Savannah Smoke Free Brochure.pdf
Breathe Easy Savannah Smoke Free Business Implementation Guide.pdf

City of Savannah Smoke-free Air Ordinance Implementation Tools:
No Smoking Past this Point Signs.pdf
No Smoking Window Decal.pdf

Free Smoking Cessation Classes:
February Freshstart Flyer.pdf
March Freshstart Flyer.pdf

Do you need more information or would you like to order signs? Click here to send us an email!

What is the Savannah Smokefree Air Act of 2010?
In August 2010, the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah voted overwhelmingly to pass an ordinance to eliminate smoking in all workplaces. Effective January 1, 2011, the new law expands the Georgia Smokefree Air Act to prohibit smoking in all public places and workplaces in the City of Savannah.
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How is this law helpful to me?
This law reduces your exposure to secondhand smoke and its associated risks. Tobacco use, particularly smoking, is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Eliminating smoking in public places will reduce the number of tobacco-related illnesses and deaths, which number more than 11,000 each year in Georgia alone. This law provides cleaner and safer environments for us to live, work and play.
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What is secondhand smoke?
Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers and the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar. This mixture contains more than 40,000 substances, more than 40 of which are known to cause cancer in humans or animals.
Exposure to secondhand smoke can contribute to or cause severe health problems in both smokers and non-smokers, including cancer, emphysema, heart disease, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and asthma. Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. The goal of Savannah's Smokefree Air Act is to protect workers and the public from involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke.
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Where is smoking NOT allowed?
All workplaces and public places including but not limited to:
• Restaurants
• Bars
• Health care facilities including private and semi-private rooms
• Auditoriums
• Cafeterias
• Stairs or elevators
• Private Offices
• Restrooms
• Hallways
• Employee lounges
• Conference rooms
• Meeting rooms
• Classrooms
• Company vehicles
• Long-term care facilities
• Private clubs
• Airports
• Retail tobacco stores
• Convention facilities
• Laundromats
• Shopping malls
• Sports arenas
• Theaters
• Service lines
• Swimming pools
• Bowling alleys
• Bingo or gaming facilities
• Galleries
• Libraries
• Museums
• Retail stores
• Public and private educational facilities
• Hotels and motels
• Common areas in apartments, condos, trailer parks, nursing homes and retirement facilities
• Polling places
• Public transportation vehicles including buses, taxicabs and trolleys
• Nursing homes
• Child and adult day care facilities
• All city-owned facilities
• Anywhere a non-smoking sign is posted

If a business has employees and/or allows the public inside the business, then it must be smokefree.
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Where is smoking prohibited outdoors?
In and within 10 feet of:
• Any entrance, operable window and ventilation system of enclosed areas where smoking is prohibited when the area is open for business or is occupied by one or more persons.
• Outdoor seating or serving areas of bars and restaurants
• Outdoor arenas, stadiums and amphitheaters
• Bleachers or grandstands at sporting or other public events
• Public transportation stations and shelters
• Service lines
• Playgrounds
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Are there any exceptions?
• Some restaurants meeting specific square footage requirements are permitted to allow smoking in no more than 20% of their outdoor eating area.
• As with the state law, hotels and motels are permitted to designate up to 20% of their rooms as smoking rooms.
• Two Hookah lounges in existence prior to the passage of the ordinance will be allowed to continue hookah pipe smoking provided they use non-tobacco products.
• Private residences used as businesses are exempt provided they are not licensed child care, adult daycare or health care facilities.
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What about other types of smoking?
Cigars, pipes, e-cigarettes and hookah pipes have the same restrictions as cigarettes under this ordinance.
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Should signs be posted?
All businesses and public places are required to clearly post a minimum of one "No Smoking" sign, which can be the international "No Smoking" symbol.
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How can I get more information about the City of Savannah Smoke-free Ordinance of 2010?
Contact the City of Savannah Citizen Liaison Office at 912-351-6527 and ask for more information. Click here to read the final version of the City of Savannah Smoke-free Air Ordinance. You can also contact Amy Hughes at (912) 661-1792 for assistance.
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