Montana Tobacco Free Schools and Clean Indoor Air Act

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The Montana Tobacco-Free Schools and Clean Indoor Air Act

The Montana Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA) went into effect on October 1, 2005 to protect Montanans from the health hazards associated with exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.

CIAA prohibits the use of all tobacco products in all public schools and , with limited exceptions, most enclosed public places that the general public is allowed to enter or that serves as a place of work, including:

Restaurants;
Stores;
Public and private office buildings;
Trains, buses, and other forms of public transportation;
Health-care facilities;
Auditoriums, arenas, meeting rooms, and other assembly facilities;
Family or group day-care homes;
Adult foster care homes; and
Buildings that house community colleges and the state university system.

Managers or proprietors of enclosed public places are required to post conspicuous signs at all entrances indicating that smoking is prohibited.

Bars and casinos may apply for a temporary exception to the law, giving them until October 1, 2009, to comply. Even with an exception, bars and casinos must agree to keep minors out of designated smoking areas and prevent smoke from drifting into non-smoking areas.

To qualify for an exemption to the law bars and casinos must adhere the following:

At least 60 percent of annual revenue must be generated from liquor and/or gaming.
No one under 18 is permitted in any area of the establishment where smoking is permitted.
Smoke may not infiltrate from the smoking area into any public place where it is prohibited.

Bars in the middle of restaurants, in buildings with multiple occupants, or in hotels, must be able to prevent the infiltration of tobacco smoke to smoke-free areas. Secondhand tobacco smoke spreads throughout enclosed spaces and it contains at least 15 carcinogens that are unsafe at any concentration.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers admitted in 1999 ventilation technology is not an alternative to eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke. No ventilation system available is able to adequately clean the air of cigarette smoke so that health is protected. Consequently, most of these establishments will be smoke free.

To read the entire text of House Bill 643, The Montana Tobacco-Free Schools and Clean Indoor Air Act, visit:

http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/2005/billhtml/HB0643.htm

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