Stanislaus County Municipal Code Ch. 9.50 Purposes and Definitions

The board of supervisors of the county finds and declares as follows:

A. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that tobacco smoke is a major source of indoor air pollution, and the Surgeon General's 1986 report on the health consequences of involuntary smoking concludes that exposure to tobacco smoke places healthy nonsmokers at increased risk for developing lung cancer. Other health hazards of involuntary smoking include respiratory infection, bronchoconstriction and bronchospasm. While all members of the population are truly at increased risk due to exposure to sidestream tobacco smoke, it constitutes a special health hazard for children, the elderly and people with chronic lung disorders.

B. The Surgeon General labels smoking "the largest single preventable cause of death and disability for the U.S. population."

C. Employees subject to prolonged exposure to sidestream smoke in the workplace have been found in scientifically conducted studies to experience a loss of job productivity and some have been forced to take periodic sick leave because of reactions to secondhand smoke. Furthermore, studies have shown higher costs to the employer are associated with smoking in the workplace due to increases in absenteeism, accidents, costs of medical care, loss of productivity, and cleaning and maintenance requirements. A recent scientific study has reported that sidestream smoke from tobacco may cause a significant amount of cardiovascular disease in the United States and that the number of deaths from this cause may exceed the deaths caused by lung disease associated with sidestream smoke. Smoking in public places and workplaces is a major cause of fires and damage to merchandise and equipment, as well as costly maintenance and repairs to furniture and fixtures.

D. The health care costs produced by smoking-related ailments and diseases constitute a heavy and avoidable financial drain on our community.

E. Air pollution caused by smoking is an offensive annoyance and irritant. Smoking results in serious and significant physical discomfort to non-smokers and constitutes a health hazard in public places and workplaces.

(Ord. CS 516 §2, 1993)

The following words and phrases, whenever used in this chapter, unless the content indicates otherwise, shall be construed as defined in this section.

A. "Bar" means an area which is devoted to the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests on the premises and in which the serving of food is only incidental to the consumption of such beverages. Although a restaurant may contain a bar, the term bar shall not include the restaurant dining area.

B. "Business" means any sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, corporation or other business entity formed for profit-making purposes, including retail establishments where goods and services are sold as well as professional corporations and other entities where legal, medical, dental, engineering, architectural or other professional services are delivered.

C. "County of Stanislaus" means all entities of which the board of supervisors of the county of Stanislaus is the governing body.

D. "Dining area" means any enclosed area containing a counter or table upon which meals are served.

E. "Employee" means any person who is employed by any employer in consideration for direct or indirect monetary wages or profit, and any person who volunteers his or her services for a nonprofit entity.

F. "Employer" means any person, partnership, corporation, including a municipal corporation, or nonprofit entity, who employs the services of one or more individual persons.

G. "Enclosed area" means all space between a floor and ceiling which is enclosed on all sides by solid walls or windows (exclusive of door or passage ways) which extend from the floor to the ceiling, including all spaces therein screened by partitions which do not extend to the ceiling or are not solid, "office landscaping" or similar structures.

H. "Members of the general public" means shoppers, customers, patrons, patients, students, clients and other similar invitees of a commercial enterprise or nonprofit entity; and exclude employees thereof, sales representatives, service repair persons, and persons delivering goods, merchandise or services to a commercial enterprise, nonprofit entity or county.

I. "Nonprofit entity" means any corporation, unincorporated association, or other entity created for charitable, philanthropic, educational, character building, political, social, or other similar purposes, the net proceeds from the operations of which are committed to the promotion of the objects or purposes of the organization and not to private financial gain. A public agency is not a nonprofit entity within the meaning of this section.

J. "Person" means any natural person, partnership, corporation, unincorporated association, joint venture, business trust, joint stock company, club, or other organization of any kind.

K. "Place of employment" means any enclosed area under the control of a public or private employer which employees normally frequent during the course of employment, including, but not limited to:

1. Work areas;

2. Employee lounges and restrooms;

3. Conference and classrooms;

4. Employee cafeterias; and

5. Hallways.

L. "Public place" means any enclosed area to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted, including, but not limited to:

1. Banks;

2. Educational facilities;

3. Health facilities;

4. Public transportation facilities;

5. Recreation areas;

6. Restaurants;

7. Retail stores;

8. Retail service establishments;

9. Theaters;

10. Retail food production and marketing establishments; and

11. Waiting rooms.

M. "Restaurant" means any coffee shop, cafeteria, sandwich stand, private and public school cafeteria, and any other eating establishment which gives or offers for sale food to the public, guests or employees, as well as kitchens in which food is prepared on the premises for serving elsewhere, including catering facilities, except that the term restaurant shall not include a cocktail lounge or tavern if said cocktail lounge or tavern is a bar as defined in subsection C of this section.

N. "Service line" means any indoor line at which one or more persons are waiting for or receiving service of any kind, whether or not such service involves the exchange of money.

O. "Smoking" means lighting, inhaling, exhaling, or burning any pipe, cigar, cigarette, weed, or plant, or carrying any lighted pipe, lighted cigar, lighted cigarette, lighted weed, lighted plant, or other ignited combustible substance in any manner or in any form.

P. "Sports arena" means sports pavilions, gymnasiums, health spas, boxing arenas, indoor swimming pools, roller and ice rinks, bowling alleys and other similar places where members of the general public assemble either to engage in physical exercise, participate in athletic competition or witness sports events.

Q. "Tobacco store" means any retail store utilized primarily for the sale of tobacco products and accessories and in which the sale of other products is merely incidental.

R. "Work area" or "work place" means any area of a place of employment enclosed by floor to ceiling walls in which two or more employees are assigned to perform work for an employer.

(Ord. CS 516 §2, 1993)