Nashville – Metro Nashville City Council voted Tuesday to pass an ordinance that would finally give Davidson County’s hospitality workers and musicians the same smoke-free workplace protection enjoyed by nearly all other Nashvillians by prohibiting smoking inside most age restricted venues.
The local action follows a statewide bill signed earlier this year by Governor Lee and the TN General Assembly granting municipalities the ability to pass such local laws. Sponsored by Councilman Jeff Syracuse along with ten additional members, the highly debated ordinance passed council with overwhelming support (30 in favor, 4 opposed) this week.
"We applaud Metro Council for stepping up and being the first city in Tennessee to guarantee a smokefree workplace for its hospitality workers and musicians,” said Jamie Kent, Chair of Musicians for a Smokefree Nashville. “As a national leader in healthcare, music, and hospitality, it’s a huge and long-awaited step towards protecting those who work hard to make Music City the place so many people want to live in and visit.”
“As a heart attack survivor, I am just happy that I can now go to our iconic Nashville venues to enjoy music and a night out,” says American Heart Association volunteer and Kirkland’s Home CEO Steve Woodward. “I shouldn’t have to put my health at risk to enjoy great live music, and our bartenders and wait staff certainly shouldn’t have to be exposed continuously to secondhand smoke every second they are at work. I’m proud of our city for being leaders on this issue.”
While new to TN, indoor smokefree laws that include bars have become the national standard. In fact, more than 1,300 cities across the US (including places like Austin, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Louisville) have already passed smokefree ordinances that cover all workplaces, restaurants, and bars. According to the CDC, these changes have continuously benefited the health of communities, while never demonstrating any negative economic impact on business. In a recent webinar hosted by the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell supported such evidence with her own experience. “All the things that we were told would happen, loss of business, the city wouldn't grow, our hospitality industry would suffer tremendously--six years later NONE of that materialized; our hospitality industry grew even stronger with upward of 19 million visitors to the city of New Orleans,” stated Mayor Cantrell.
The ordinance will go into effect March 1, 2023, allowing time for establishments to make outdoor accommodations, if desired. The Metro Nashville Public Health Department will oversee implementation and enforcement of the ordinance, and fines of $50 (per occurrence) may be issued to those in violation. Unfortunately, the ordinance will exempt age restricted venues that generate a significant portion of their business from the sale of hookah or hemp-derived cannabinoid products and accessories. Due to state law, cigar bars are also exempt from this ordinance. Smoking or vaping of products not sold at exempted establishments are not allowed.
“While we were disappointed in some of the exemptions that ended up in the bill, eliminating smoking inside Nashville bars is a big step forward in improving the health and quality of life for our community,” said Dr. Daniel Muñoz, President of the American Heart Association Greater Nashville Board of Directors and Executive Medical Director of the Vanderbilt Heart & Vascular Institute. “Smoke-Free laws save lives. We hope other great cities in Tennessee will build on Nashville’s example so that we can make our state a healthier place to live and work.”
Musicians for a Smokefree Nashville is a coalition of artists, songwriters, venues, community members, and public health organizations that formed in 2020 with the goal of creating smokefree workplaces for Nashville’s music and hospitality community.
