Tobacco

Smoking Code/Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act (ATUPA)

Phone: 585 753-5541

• Investigates complaints regarding smoking in public places and work sites.
• Investigates complaints and conducts compliance checks of tobacco retailer to reduce the use and accessibility of tobacco to youth under 18 years of age.
• Enforces compliance with Monroe County Sanitary Code Article VI, Regulation of Smoking in Public Places and Work sites and Article 13-F-Regulation of Tobacco Products and Herbal Cigarettes; Distribution to Minors.

Online Information

• Article 13-F-Regulation of Tobacco Products and Herbal Cigarettes; Distribution to Minors
• Monroe County Sanitary Code Article VI, Regulation of Smoking in Public Places and Worksites
• Guide for Tobacco Merchants for NYS’s Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act

New York Public Places and Work Sites Now Smoke-Free

Effective July 24, 2003, public places and work sites across New York State must be smoke-free. All work sites—including bars and restaurants—are now included to ensure that all New Yorkers work in a safer environment. The original state law, passed in 1989, provided similar protections but in fewer work sites.

New York becomes the fifth state in the U.S. to provide such comprehensive public health protection from secondhand smoke—a substance with over 4,000 chemical compounds—including 43 known to cause cancer. Secondhand smoke is responsible for the deaths of approximately 62,000 non-smokers each year in the United States.

The law applies to virtually all places of business. Business owners are required to inform employees and patrons that smoking is prohibited indoors—including private offices and smoking rooms—and to post No Smoking signs in conspicuous places within their establishment.

The Monroe County Health Department will regularly inspect facilities that are under permit from us (such as bars and restaurants) to determine compliance, respond to complaints that we receive from the public, and take enforcement action against businesses that fail to comply with various provisions of the law.

Questions about how the statewide smoking law applies to your business can be answered by calling the Health Department at 585 753-5541.

Read the State of New York Regulation (85k PDF).

Informational Links

• NYS Smoker’s Quit Website
• NYS Health Department Smoke-Free Website

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Tobacco Retailers Fined for Selling to Minors

The Monroe County Department of Public Health fined 8 retailers between January 2012 and December 2012, for selling tobacco products to minors (persons less than 18 years old).

The minimum fine for the first violation is $300 (plus a $50 surcharge). Repeat violations can result in fines of up to $2500 and the suspension or revocation of lottery and/or tobacco licenses.

State law also requires that the name of the business fined be made public.

View the List of Retailers Fined.

Local police agencies conduct tobacco purchase compliance checks throughout Monroe County. Underage youth—typically about 16-years-old—attempt to purchase tobacco products; if a sale is made, the business is cited with a violation of state law.

In 2012, 625 tobacco purchase compliance checks were conducted in Monroe County which resulted in 11 sales to a minor  (2% of the time).