The Smoke-Free Ordinance for unincorporated Boulder County has been updated to align with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act and to protect people from second-hand smoke to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people in Boulder County, including unincorporated areas.

The updated ordinance will go into effect on Sunday, June 27, 2021, and will include the following updates:

• added regulations of electronic smoking device use, in addition to conventional smoking

• added language to include electronic vaping devices and protections from secondhand vapor

• not allowing smoking or vaping within 25 feet of business entryways

• not allowing smoking in public service areas (bus stops, public transportation)

• adding protections from smoking and vaping in some parks and recreation spaces

Although Boulder County was one of the first communities in the state to pass a clean indoor air law in 2004, many municipalities in Boulder County have expanded their laws to include additional smoke-free protections such as including electronic smoking devices and creating outdoor smoke-free spaces. This ordinance update will allow a consistent policy across Boulder County.

Updating the ordinance was a community-driven process that involved the communities and businesses in unincorporated areas. Listening to community members through community meetings, surveys, regular communication with the community members and business associations, as well as outreach to businesses, specifically restaurants, Boulder County Public Health received and adopted the feedback from the community to update this ordinance.

“We believe that updating this ordinance to include unincorporated Boulder County will increase health equity,” said Rachel Freeman, Program Coordinator for the Tobacco Education

Prevention Partnership at Boulder County Public Health. “It is imperative that we maintain a consistent healthy environment in and around our county.”

Public Health will work with businesses to oversee compliance, focusing first on education about the ordinance and second-hand smoke. Businesses will be fined after three occurrences of the same violation within 12 months.

“Smoke-free policies have been shown to decrease the use and initiation by young people, protect individuals with pre-existing conditions from exposure to secondhand smoke and mitigate fire risks,” Freeman added. “We want to ensure that all people in Boulder County and unincorporated areas have the opportunity for a healthy life.”