The Colorado Clean Air Act of 2006 requires indoor areas to be smoke-free, from restaurants and bars to grocery stores and indoor sports arenas. Among the exceptions: residences, unless used for day care or child care; limousines under private hire; cigar tobacco bars; retail tobacco businesses; the smoking lounge at Denver International Airport; and businesses with three or fewer employers that do not allow access to the public.

There are measures created for an exemption for assisted-living facilities to allow smoking in designated areas that are fully enclosed, ventilated and accessible only to residents and their guests.

Included in the smoke-free zone is:

Billiards and pool halls

Restrooms, lobbies, hallways and elevators

Indoor sports arenas and performance halls

Grocery and retail stores

Public meetings and courtrooms

Hospitals, clinics and other health-care facilities

Child and elder-care facilities

Libraries and schools

Private residences serving as child care facilities during business hours

Smoking is also no longer permitted in the following other places in:

Buses, taxicabs, gondolas and other means of public transit, as well as any partially or fully enclosed structure used by the public to wait for public transit service

Smoking is allowed in the following indoor public places at the discretion of the property owner or manager:

Guest lodging rooms including hotels, motels, condos, B&B's and townhomes

Private clubs not open to the public

How to comply with the smoking ordinance
Frequently Asked Questions

What if I choose not to ask customers to stop smoking?
The owners, managers, operators or those who control the premises subject to the regulation will be held responsible for complying with the ordinance in their establishment.

What if a customer refuses to stop smoking?
Owners and employees are encouraged to use common sense. Only as a last resort if the customer refuses or is belligerent should the police be contacted.

Are all restaurants and bars smoke- free in this ordinance?
Yes, smoking is prohibited in all areas of restaurants and bars that are enclosed and open to the public.

Can you smoke on patios and decks outside of a restaurant or bar?
Yes, smoking is allowed in outdoor areas, unless otherwise prohibited by the establishment owner. In Burlington, smoking is not allowed within 15 feet of the entrance or main doorway to the establishment.

Can employees smoke in a breakroom or designated smoking office?
Yes, at the discretion of the business owner or manager, employees may smoke in enclosed areas that are not open to the public if there are fewer than three employees.

How do I get additional signs?
Each Town and the County will have an extra supply of adhesive signs, while supplies last.

Where should signs be posted?
 "No Smoking" signs should be posted and maintained in a position clearly visible at every public entrance to areas where smoking is prohibited.