Majority of North Carolina Restaurants and Bars Complying With Law

By Ann Houston Staples

On January 2, 2010, a new law went into effect prohibiting smoking in enclosed areas of most North Carolina restaurants and bars across the state. For the purposes of this law, a “restaurant” is considered to be any establishment that is inspected and permitted by a local health department while a bar is an establishment that holds a state permit authorizing it to serve malt beverages (e.g., beer), wine, or mixed drinks on its premises. The law also applies to any lodging establishment that serves food or drink for pay and is required to comply with state public health laws related to food and drink sanitation.

So far, the vast majority of restaurants and bars are complying with the new law. By December 5, 2010, the state had received 1,347 complaints throughout North Carolina against 605 of the more than 24,000 businesses statewide that are subject to the law. The statewide data show that the number of complaints reported about potential violations has declined since the law went into effect. For the month of January there were 518 complaints against 318 businesses compared to 37 complaints against 25 businesses for the month of November. By December 5, 2010, Mecklenburg County had received a total of 101 complaints against 52 restaurants or bars.