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City of Elizabeth Prohibits Tobacco Use in City Vehicles

ELIZABETH - Mayor Bollwage announces that effective May 1, tobacco use will be prohibited in all City of Elizabeth vehicles. By issuing the new ban the City of Elizabeth will follow suit with New Jersey’s new statewide ban on smoking in all indoor workplaces.

“It has been proven that smoking, tobacco products, and second hand smoke are harmful to your health, and over the weekend the State of New Jersey’s highly anticipated new smoking ban went into effect,” said Mayor Chris Bollwage. “In Elizabeth we continue to work diligently to ensure the safety of all of our employees, and with this decision we are taking yet another step towards a healthier work environment for everyone.”

The Mayors executive order states that the use of any tobacco containing products by City of Elizabeth employees is prohibited in all vehicles, whether on or off duty that are registered to , owned by , leased by and/or contracted to the City of Elizabeth. Vehicles effected by the ban include all police, fire, and public works vehicles.

The new ban is consistent with N.J.S.A. 26B:3D-1, which prohibits smoking in municipal buildings and public areas. According to the decision, any city employee who is found to have violated the executive order will be subject to disciplinary action.

The state of New Jersey has recently taken a stand against smoking by passing a law that bans smoking in all indoor workplaces, including restaurants and bars. This law took effect this past Saturday, April 15, at 12:01 a.m., making New Jersey the 10th state with such a law.

According to the New Jersey State ban, a person who smokes in violation of the law and a person in control of an indoor workplace who does not comply can be fined $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.