North Dakota voters ban smoking in bars, indoor workplaces

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota voters have agreed to expand the state's smoking ban to cover bars and other public places.

The state has had a limited smoking ban for seven years. The law approved Tuesday expands the ban to bars, motels, private nursing homes, cabs and public transportation. It also prohibits smoking within 20 feet of an entrance to a public building.

Violations can carry a $50 fine. Bars that allow smoking in spite of the ban could be stripped of their licenses to sell tobacco and liquor.

Several North Dakota cities have already banned smoking in bars, including Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks.

Twenty-nine states already have comprehensive workplace smoking bans, including Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana.

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