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Salt Lake City International Airport phasing out smoking rooms by mid-December

Posted at 2:41 PM, May 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-25 00:22:40-04

SALT LAKE CITY - Mayor Jackie Biskupski and the Salt Lake City International Airport have announced a plan to phase out the all smoking rooms at the airport.

The mayor's office said the six-month plan begins July 5 with the closure of the smoking room in Concourse D, and the final smoking room permanently closing on December 19.

The current designs of the $1.8 billion Terminal Redevelopment Program do not include space for smoking rooms.

The first phase of the Terminal Redevelopment Program is scheduled for completion in 2020.

“This is first and foremost an issue of public health, both for travelers and our airport employees, but it is also an issue of space concerns,” Mayor Biskupski said on the closure plan. “The current airport terminal is also beyond capacity, and every foot of available space should be used to the best advantage of the traveling public.”

Public health advocates estimate health care costs in Utah this year due to smoking will reach $542 million, with an additional $355 million in smoking-related lost productivity, according to the mayor's office.

Mayor Biskupski said closing the smoking rooms will free up more than 1,200 square feet in the concourses for other purposes—possible retail space, charging stations for electronics and extra passenger seating.

The city supported a 2016 bill at the Utah Legislature sponsored by state Senator Evan Vickers to require the airport close the rooms in compliance with the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act, Biskupski said.

“Having been involved in this issue since last summer, I see this as a step forward for our airport and our state,” Senator Vickers said. “I would have liked the Legislature to support this, but the timing is right and this is a positive and appropriate health move for our traveling public.”

“We have thoroughly studied the issue of closing the smoking rooms,” said Airport Executive Director Maureen Riley. “While we expect a mild change in routine for some using the airport, we anticipate no major impact in passenger movement or convenience in taking this step.”

Mayor Biskupski said, by keeping airport smoking rooms open, Salt Lake City has remained an outlier in the United States.

Currently, 27 of the 35 busiest U.S. airports are smoke-free and more than 600 of the nation’s airports are smoke-free.

Those wishing to smoke at the airport will still be able to do so outside the terminals, 25 feet from entrances, in accordance with the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act.

In conjunction with closing the rooms, Salt Lake City International Airport will begin an outreach campaign to notify the public, as well as a no-cost smoking cessation program for airport employees.

The closure schedule is as follows:

·         Concourse D (470 square feet): July 5

·         Concourse A (308 square feet): Week of August 15

·         Concourse B (396 square feet): Week of September 26

·         Concourse E (357 square feet): Week of November 7

·         Concourse C (598 square feet): Week of December 19