In 2006, CTEPA achieved a huge success with the passage of The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act requiring most enclosed public places and workplaces, including all restaurants and bars, to be smoke-free.  The two major exceptions to this new law were cigar-bars, casinos and the Denver International Airport. In 2007 CTEPA supported efforts to repeal the casino exemption. Later that year, the Governor signed off on House Bill 07-1269, requiring all Colorado casinos to be smoke-free by January of 2008!

CTEPA is not yet finished!  We are now directing an initiative to make the Denver International Airport (DIA) smoke free. Earlier this year, CTEPA conducted an air study inside four restaurants/bars in DIA that fully allow smoking inside. The results were compelling. The air in all four smoking establishments exceeded the EPA’s maximum safe exposure level for outdoor air.  This issue has received a lot of attention and was picked up by local media outlets in early March.  CTEPA has met with city officials making them aware of the issue and will continue to advocate the city’s decision makers for a smoke-free airport.

For news coverage of this issue, click here.

Looking ahead to future Colorado legislative sessions, CTEPA plans to actively pursue tough youth access legislation.  CTEPA will work to advocate for a comprehensive youth access law that will effectively lower youth smoking rates by requiring retailers to get a license to sell tobacco; mandate the placement of tobacco products behind the counter; require frequent compliance checks; prohibit free “giveaways” of tobacco samples; and restrict tobacco advertising.

We encourage you to contact your legislators and tell them to support the fight to keep tobacco out of our children’s hands by adopting strong policies on retail licensing.

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We need your help to make sure that our laws remain effective towards reducing tobacco use!