We’re planning to pull the plug in a few years and probably move to either Portland or Seattle. We’re familiar with both cities, which have a lot to offer. I can’t seem to find a definitive answer to the question of what the restrictions are in both cities regarding smoking in restaurants. Thanks for the help.
Seattle just put down a big ban on smoking in ALL public buildings. you can now go to a night club and not wind up smelling like an ashtray and feeling like shit the next day from the air alone.
Not just Seattle – the entire State of Washington.
Exception: tribal casinos, which have sprouted like mushrooms across the area.
It sucks. Put me out of a job. When you tell old men that they can’t sit around drinking coffee and eating breakfast and smoking, they just stay home and you don’t need the breakfast cook any more.
No Oregonians to chime in?
Another question about Seattle (and Portland). Is there any property tax exemption for seniors?
Oregon has a law made by the tobacco industry. Smoking is allowed in bars in most cities. Cities can not ban smoking. Eugene, I think, still has smoke-free bars. Portland does not.
In what context? Corvallis bans smoking in restaurants, public buildings, and even (controvertially) parks. I don’t know about “pure” bars (i.e. that don’t serve food, too) - I don’t think there are any in Corvallis, perhaps another local law.
Many of the restaurants I eat at in Salem and Eugene don’t seem to have smoking sections; I don’t know if that’s law or just a business decision on their part.
(Googles a little bit…)
According to this link, smoking was banned in most restaurants in Porland in 2000, Corvallis bans smoking in bars and restaurants, as does Eugene. Salem isn’t listed (at least not in alphabetical order) – odd, because it’s a major city and the state capitol.
I’m going to check more on this, but I believe that Oregon has now passed a law which prohibits any other government from passing smoking laws. However, other laws in effect are still allowed. This is what the tobacco industry wants.
Eugene has no smoking in bars and restaurants. Springfield, the next town over, allows it.
Why does tobacco have such clout in Oregon?
Here is some information about preemption in government tobacco laws. Since it is harder to ban smoking in a state than a city, tobacco lobbyists prefer to have it controlled at the state level rather than a city. Banning smoking in a large city gets attention.