Hawaii getting used to strict smoking ban

In the past decade, restaurants there have begun offering no-smoking sections, and train platforms have set up designated smoking areas. Public facilities and hospitals are now smoke-free and local officials in Tokyo fine anyone who smokes in certain parts of the city.

Tom Hansen, 65, from Alberta, Canada, said he's gotten used to finding places to smoke since Canadian cities have also cut down on the amount of public places allowing smoking.

"It's been gradually coming over the years," said Hansen, who has smoked for roughly five decades. "I mean 15 years ago, you could smoke in your hospital bed and now you can't smoke on the hospital premises."

Businesses in Hawaii failing to comply with the law face fines up to $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense, and up to $500 for each additional violation. Individual violators of the smoking law may be fined up to $50 plus court costs.

Officials hope businesses and public pressure become a front-line for enforcement, said Julian Lipsher, a public health educator with state Health Department.

The outdoor International Marketplace in Waikiki, featuring more than 100 souvenir stands, already posted "no smoking" signs, along with many beachside bars and outdoor hotel sitting areas. Honolulu International Airport has eliminated a designated area in the airport and will now direct all smokers to a few uncovered areas away from the building.

With the ban, Hawaii hotels can only designate 20 percent of their rooms to smokers, but a few chains, including Marriott and Westin, have already eliminated smoking rooms nationwide.

"The country as a whole is heading in a more healthy direction and we're following that trend," said David Uchiyama, spokesman for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii, which operates seven Sheraton and Westin hotels in the state.

Starwood hotels have set up designated exterior areas for smokers, but will also charge cleaning fees to people who smoke in nonsmoking rooms, since workers will have to scrub out the smell and stains to follow the law's new guidelines, Uchiyama said.

More than 126 million Americans are regularly exposed to smokers' fumes and tens of thousands die each year as a result, according to a federal study released earlier this year. It cited "overwhelming scientific evidence" that secondhand smoke causes heart disease, lung cancer and other illnesses.

In Hawaii, only about 17 percent of adults smoke, the fourth-lowest rate in the nation, according to the state Health Department.

Most residents and tourists said they favor the new law, which was opposed by only three state senators and four representatives.

"I love it. I'm so happy to be able to breathe again," said tourist Debbie Liston, 40, of Seattle.

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