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Smoke-Free Meeting Policy

Revised October 2011

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recognizes that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is an important preventable cause of death and disease, and that reducing such exposure will not only improve the public health but may also facilitate quit attempts by those addicted to tobacco, benefiting their health as well. Therefore, all meetings and conferences organized and/or sponsored by NIDA shall be held in a town, city, county, or state that is smoke free, unless specific circumstances justify an exception from this policy.

Exceptions to the Policy

The smoke-free meeting policy addresses meetings and conferences primarily organized or sponsored by NIDA that involve 20 or more attendees. The following can be exempted from the policy:

  • Conference grants (e.g. R13) and other grantee sponsored meetings,
  • Site visits at institutions supported by and/or applying for NIDA funding,
  • Meetings in which NIDA is but one of many organizers,
  • Meetings/conferences held in coordination with other meetings/conferences that are not sponsored by NIDA,
  • Meetings that need to be convened in close proximity to a special population group (e.g., a Tribal community), and
  • Meetings held at the NIDA IRP Campus
  • Additional exemption requests will be considered on a case by case basis.

NIDA representatives will also encourage all grantees, applicants, and other meeting organizers to consider holding their meetings in smoke-free jurisdictions.

U.S Map showing states with smoke-free jurisdictions, see tables below

For purposes of meeting planning, NIDA considers a jurisdiction (state, city, town, or county) smoke-free if it provides employees and the general public complete or near complete protection from secondhand smoke in enclosed workplaces, including restaurants.

List of Smoke Free Jurisdictions (10/11)

States that are Entirely Smoke-Free, plus the District of Columbia
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Hawaii
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Ohio
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Utah
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
States that contain at least one smoke-free jurisdiction
Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Georgia
Indiana
Kentucky
Mississippi
Missouri
North Dakota
South Carolina
Texas
West Virginia
Wyoming
States that contain no smoke-free jurisdictions
Idaho
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Virginia

 

This page was last updated October 2011

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