On 13 February, the Colorado House passed a bill sponsored that would prohibit smoking in most indoor public places in the state.

Also on 13 February, the Virginia Senate approved a measure that would ban smoking in restaurants and almost all public places. With support from mayor Barry Groveman, a former environmental prosecutor, the city of Calabasas, California adopted an ordinance that would ban smoking at outdoor areas where other people are present. Currently in the United States, eleven states,Washington, California, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Rhode Island, and Vermont, require smoke-free workplaces for all workers, including restaurant and bar workers. Additional states are likely to pass similar legislation in 2006. Arizona and Ohio will likely have voter referendums on whether the state should go smoke-free. Maryland is also currently consider similar legislation.
Anti-smoking laws are becoming more and more Draconian across the United States. And as smoking becomes more deamonised, it seems to becoming easier for many community associations across the US to outlaw an individual’s choice to smoke in public and private areas, including ones own home. Apartment co-ops have started including nosmoking in the entire building including individual apartment units owned by the resident as part of its bylaws. The apartment boards argue that in buildings that have residential units served by central heating and ventilations systems, environmental tobacco smoke can travel from one resident's home to a neighbour's unit. (cg)