Study shows most Oregon bars are now smokefree

Publication Date: 2009-11-10

• Author:Michelle Cole
• Publication:The Oregonian

Smokers may have grumbled when the new smokefree workplace law took effect on Jan. 1, but a study released Tuesday finds people aren't lighting up in Oregon bars and bowling alleys anymore.

Investigators from the Oregon Department of Human Services Tobacco Prevention and Education Program visited 147 bars and 16 bowling alleys around the state this summer and found most establishments in compliance with the state's indoor smoking law.

According to their report, the only observed violations of the indoor smoking ban were in so-called "outdoor" smoking structures erected by bars and taverns trying to skirt the law, which passed the 2007 Legislature and took effect at the start of this year.