Us Airports: Where Can You Light Up?

As of 2024, nearly all US hub airports are 100% smoke-free indoors, including Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Salt Lake City, JFK, and Newark. However, some US airports still allow smoking indoors, including McCarran Las Vegas, Memphis, Nashville, Cincinnati-Northern KY, and Biloxi. Many airports that have banned indoor smoking provide designated smoking areas outside the terminals, such as Tampa International Airport, which offers smoking patios without requiring passengers to check back through security.

US airports that still allow indoor smoking

As of 2024, nearly all US hub airports are 100% smoke-free indoors, including Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Salt Lake City, JFK, and Newark. However, a handful of airports in the US still allow indoor smoking in designated smoking rooms and lounges. These airports include:

McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas (LAS)

Smoking is permitted in several indoor locations, including Barney's Lounge (C Gates), the Budweiser Racing Track Lounge in the Esplanade Pre-Security area, and enclosed gaming lounges (B, C, D, and E Gates). This airport was smoke-free from 2006 until 2010, but Nevada law allows smoking in bars that do not serve food and in designated gaming floors.

Miami International Airport (MIA)

An "open-air" atrium attached to the airport's TGI Fridays restaurant allows smoking. The atrium has four walls and a roof with a gap at the roofline.

Nashville International Airport (BNA)

The airport has two Graycliff Boutique & Lounge locations where smoking is permitted with a purchase: one on Concourse B near Gate B10 and the other on Concourse C near Gate C10.

Memphis International Airport (MEM)

Memphis International Airport is one of the few airports in the US that still allows indoor smoking. However, specific locations within the airport where smoking is permitted were not mentioned.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)

Like Memphis International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport allows indoor smoking, but specific locations were not mentioned.

Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT)

Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport is another airport in the US that permits indoor smoking, but the exact locations were not specified.

It is worth noting that the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation and other organizations are advocating for 100% smoke-free indoor air in these airports, highlighting the health hazards of secondhand smoke for travellers and employees.

Airports with outdoor smoking areas

As of 2024, nearly all US hub airports are 100% smoke-free indoors, including Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Salt Lake City, JFK, and Newark. However, some airports still offer outdoor smoking areas to accommodate travellers who wish to smoke before their flights.

One example is the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport in Mumbai, India, which has smoking lounges in both the departure and arrival terminals. These lounges can be found in designated areas such as the arrival hall next to Belt Five and departures between Gates 26 and 27.

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport also provides a smoking lounge at Gate 11. For a minimal entrance fee, travellers gain full-day access to the lounge, which offers a complimentary drink in addition to cigarettes and cigars.

Nashville International Airport is another airport with outdoor smoking areas. The Graycliff Cigar Company operates two in-house smoking lounges at Concourse B by Gate B-10 and Concourse C by Gate C-10 for a small fee.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has several smoking lounges and rooms located before and after passport control. Before passport control, smoking areas are located outside Schiphol Plaza and are marked with white dotted lines. After passport control, smoking lounges can be found inside airport bars.

While McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas allows indoor smoking, it also provides outdoor smoking areas near ticketing and baggage claim. Additionally, smoking is permitted at the gaming lounges located at the B, C, D, and E Gates.

Lastly, Washington Dulles International Airport, which implemented a no-smoking policy indoors in 2023, allows smoking only in designated smoking lounges located throughout the airport at each concourse near Gates B37, B73, C2, and D30. Travellers who smoke outside these designated areas are subject to fines.

The health hazards of secondhand smoke

As of 2024, most US hub airports are 100% smoke-free indoors, including Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Salt Lake City, JFK, and Newark. However, some airports, such as McCarran Las Vegas, Memphis, Nashville, Cincinnati-Northern KY, and Biloxi, still allow indoor smoking. Despite the existence of designated smoking areas, these spaces do not effectively prevent secondhand smoke from spreading throughout the airport.

Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, is a mixture of mainstream smoke (exhaled by the smoker) and sidestream smoke (from the lighted end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar). It contains high concentrations of nicotine and cancer-causing agents (carcinogens). There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, and even brief exposure can lead to serious health problems.

Cancer

Secondhand smoke is known to cause lung cancer, even in people who have never smoked. It contains over 7,000 chemicals, including about 70 carcinogens. It can also increase the risk of other cancers in adults, such as nasopharyngeal cancer (affecting the upper part of the throat behind the nose). Moreover, exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy may increase the risk of certain childhood cancers in babies.

Cardiovascular Disease

Secondhand smoke exposure can increase the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke in adults who do not smoke. It interferes with the normal functioning of the heart, blood, and vascular systems, elevating the chances of a heart attack. Even short-term exposure can damage the lining of blood vessels and make blood platelets stickier, contributing to an increased risk of heart attack.

Reproductive Health Issues

Women exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy are more likely to experience adverse reproductive health effects, including low birth weight, which can lead to health complications for the newborn. Secondhand smoke exposure has also been linked to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in infants.

Respiratory Problems

Secondhand smoke is a significant trigger for asthma attacks and can worsen asthma symptoms. It also increases the risk of respiratory infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia, and middle ear disease in children. Exposure to secondhand smoke is particularly harmful to young children as their bodies are still developing, and they are least able to avoid it.

Other Health Issues

In addition to the risks mentioned above, secondhand smoke exposure can lead to other health problems, including inflammatory and respiratory issues within 60 minutes of exposure, lasting for at least three hours. Overall, about 2,500,000 non-smokers have died from health issues caused by secondhand smoke exposure since 1964.

Airports with smoking lounges

As of 2024, nearly all U.S. hub airports are 100% smoke-free indoors, including Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Salt Lake City, JFK, and Newark. However, some airports still allow indoor smoking, including smoking lounges.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

The world's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, has at least one, sometimes two, smoking lounges in each concourse, except Concourse D. These lounges are located at Concourse B7, B24, C15, C28, D5, D7, E8, E17, and E30.

Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport has a designated smoking lounge called the Smokin' Bear Smoking Lounge, located on the C Gates. There is a $5 drink minimum to enter.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport has three Graycliff Lounges, two of which are located by Gates 11 and B11, respectively. These lounges offer a full-day access pass for a minimal entrance fee that includes a complimentary drink. Cigars, cigarettes, coffee, and chocolate are available for purchase.

McCarran International Airport (Las Vegas)

McCarran International Airport has several designated smoking areas, including Terminal 1 above baggage claim, the Great Hall near Terminal D, and between Gates E1 and E14 in Terminal 3. The Budweiser Racing Track Bar & Grill by Gate C7 is a popular spot for those looking to pair a drink with their smoke.

Tampa International Airport

Tampa International Airport stands out as one of the few airports that allow smoking outdoors without requiring passengers to pass through security again. It offers several smoking patios at Airside A, C, E, and F.

Washington Dulles International Airport

Washington Dulles International Airport has designated smoking lounges located throughout the airport, specifically across from Gates B37, C2, and D30.

Nashville International Airport

Nashville International Airport has two in-house smoking lounges operated by the Graycliff Cigar Company, located near Gates B-10 and C-10. Access to these lounges is available for a minimal fee.

While these airports provide designated smoking areas, it is important to note that smoking is a health hazard, and airports with smoking lounges are becoming less common as more airports prioritize the health of employees and travellers.

The tobacco industry's fight to keep smoking in airports

The tobacco industry has fought hard to keep smoking in airports, using schemes such as the Philip Morris Airport Options program to undermine smokefree policies and maximise smoking rates. They have also relied on front groups and lobbying to achieve their aims.

In the US, tobacco companies and airlines fought any regulation of inflight smoking. In 1976, the US Civil Aeronautics Board banned cigar and pipe smoking on aircraft, but under pressure from tobacco interests, it sought to limit this ban in 1978. The CAB banned and then unbanned smoking in 1984, with chairman Dan McKinnon saying, "Philosophically, I think nonsmokers have rights, but it comes into marked conflict with practicalities and the realities of life."

The tobacco industry viewed restrictions on smoking as a serious threat to the social acceptability of smoking. Their initial efforts included covert letter-writing campaigns and lobbying of the airline industry. However, with the emergence of proposals to ban smoking, tobacco companies engaged in ever-increasing efforts to forestall further restrictions. Tactics to dominate the public record became especially rigorous. The industry launched an aggressive public relations campaign that began with the promotion of industry-sponsored petition drives and public opinion surveys. Results from polling research that produced findings contrary to the industry's position were suppressed.

In order to demonstrate smoker outrage against a ban, later efforts included the sponsorship of smokers' rights and other front groups. Congressional allies and industry consultants sought to discredit the science underlying proposals to ban smoking, and individual tobacco companies conducted their own cabin air quality research. Faced with the potential of a ban on all domestic flights, the industry sought to intimidate an air carrier and a prominent policymaker. Despite the intensification of tactics over time, including the mobilisation of an army of lobbyists and Congressional allies, the tobacco industry was ultimately defeated.

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