How will a member of the public know if a restaurant or bar is required to comply with the new smoking law?
There are two categories of restaurants and bars that are subject to the smoking law: (1) those restaurants and bars that must
comply with the state’s public health sanitation laws and (2) those bars that have ABC permits to serve beer, wine or mixed
drinks on the premises.
Members of the public will know if the bar or restaurant falls into the first category if it displays a sanitation grade card,
as required by G.S 130A-249. If, upon entering a restaurant or bar, no grade card is visible, the facility may:
- Be a “bar” that falls under the second category above, and is thus required to comply with the smoking law.
- Fall within one of the exceptions to the smoking law (see Question 10); or
- Be out of compliance with the grade card requirement.
If a member of the public enters a bar or restaurant, sees someone smoking but does not see either a sanitation grade card or
a no smoking sign, he or she can ask an employee or manager whether the establishment is required to prohibit smoking. If the
patron does not receive a satisfactory answer, he or she could contact the local health department for assistance or consider
filing a complaint (see http://tobaccopreventionandcontrol.ncdhhs.gov/smokefreenc/ for information about filing a complaint).
