Jump to full article: Dodge City (KS) Globe, 2009-03-11
Author: ERIC SWANSON Dodge City Daily Globe
Intro: After watching battles over smoking bans in Salina and Wichita, Dodge City Fire Chief Dan Williamson was expecting some resistance from local businesses when Dodge adopted its ban last fall.
But so far, he's been pleasantly surprised.
"In reality, business compliance and business acceptance have been very favorable," Williamson told the Globe on Tuesday. "We have appreciated the businesses that have taken the steps to comply and make it an easy transition."
By April 1, Dodge City businesses must either ban smoking on their premises or finish building special smoking rooms to meet the city's standards. Those rooms must be enclosed on all sides by solid, impermeable walls or floor-to-ceiling windows, and they must have self-closing doors.
The rooms are required to maintain a negative air pressure — that is, more air is exhausted from the area than is directly supplied by heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. In addition, the rooms must include a ventilation system that exhausts air from the room directly to the outside.
Smoking will not be allowed in those rooms until the business passes a city inspection, pays a $100 permit fee and registers as a smoking zone. The business must renew the permit each year for a $25 fee.
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