Home | I Enjoy Smoking. Period.

I Enjoy Smoking. Period.

There are millions of smokers and smokers still have rights!

You're an adult and you know what you want. One day you might quit, but for now you enjoy smoking.

Remember when it was considered glamorous to smoke? Now most of us feel like second class citizens beset at every turn by well-meaning people and anti-smoking zealots.

If you still like to smoke, you are not alone. We're not here to try and convince you to quit. Smoking is legal in the United States and as a citizen, you still have rights.

Smoker Protection Laws

Many states in the United States have Smoker Protection Laws. These are state statutes that prevent employers from discriminating against employees for using tobacco products. Laws vary from state to state, but employers are generally prohibited from either refusing to hire or firing an employee for using any type of tobacco product during non-working hours and off of the employer's property. In three states, there is no specific law related to employee tobacco use but smokers are protected under broader state statutes that prohibit employers from discriminating against any employee who engages in a lawful activity. And smoking is still a lawful activity.

States That Protect the Rights of Smokers

State Year Enacted Statute Code
California 2005 CA LABOR CODE 96(k) & 98.6 *
Colorado 1990 CO REV. STAT. ANN 24-34-402.5 *
Connecticut 2003 CT GEN. STAT. ANN. 31-40s
District of Columbia 1993 D.C. CODE ANN. 7-1703.3
Illinois 1987 820 ILL. COMP. STAT. 55/5
Indiana 2006 IND. CODE 22-5-4-1 et seq.
Kentucky 1994 KY REV. STAT. ANN. 344.040
Louisiana 1991 LA REV. STAT. ANN. 23:966
Maine 1991 ME REV. STAT. ANN. tit. 26, 597
Minnesota 1992 MINN. STAT. 181.938
Mississippi 1994 MISS. CODE ANN. 71-7-33
Missouri 1992 MO. REV. STAT. 290.145
Montana 1993 MONT. CODE ANN. 39-2-313 & 39-2-314
Nevada 1991 NEV. REV. STAT. 613.333
New Hampshire 1991 N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. 275:37-a
New Jersey 1991 N.J. STAT. ANN. 34:6B-1 et seq.
New Mexico 1991 N.M. STAT. ANN. 50-11-1 et seq.
New York 1992 [LABOR] LAW 201-d *
North Carolina 1991 N.C. GEN. STAT. 95-28.2
North Dakota 1993 N.D. CENT. CODE 14-02.4-01 et seq.
Oklahoma 1991 OKLA. STAT. ANN. tit. 40, 500
Oregon 1989 OR. REV. STAT. 659A.315 & 659A.885
Rhode Island 2005 R.I. GEN. LAWS 23-20.10-14
South Carolina 1991 S.C. CODE ANN. 41-1-85
South Dakota 1991 S.D. CODIFIED LAWS 60-4-11
Tennessee 1990 TENN. CODE ANN. 50-1-304
Virginia 1989 VA. CODE ANN. 2.2-2902
West Virginia 1992 W. VA. CODE 21-3-19
Wisconsin 1991 WIS. STAT. 111.31 et seq
Wyoming 1992 WYO. STAT. ANN. 27-9-101 et seq.

* Not specific to tobacco use, covers all lawful activities

Smokers Are Taxpayers

State cigarette taxes vary wildly from state to state. The next time you begin to feel you have no rights as a smoker, think of all the taxes you are paying and stand up for yourself.

StateTax RateStateTax Rate
Alabama0.425Alaska2.00
Arizona2.00Arkansas1.15
California0.87Colorado0.84
Connecticut3.40Delaware1.60
District of Columbia2.50Florida1.339
Georgia0.37Hawaii3.20
Idaho0.57Illinois0.98
Indiana0.995Iowa1.36
Kansas0.79Kentucky0.60
Louisiana0.36Maine2.00
Maryland2.00Massachusetts2.51
Michigan2.00Minnesota1.576
Mississippi0.68Missouri0.17
Montana1.70Nebraska0.64
Nevada0.80New Hampshire1.68
New Jersey2.70New Mexico1.66
New York4.35North Carolina0.45
North Dakota0.44Ohio1.25
Oklahoma1.03Oregon1.18
Pennsylvania1.60Rhode Island3.46
South Carolina0.57South Dakota1.53
Tennessee0.62 Texas1.41
Utah1.70Vermont2.62
Virginia0.30Washington3.025
West Virginia0.55Wisconsin2.52
Wyoming0.60