Smoking, vaping banned from California Mid-State Fair
California Mid-State Fair officials are banning smoking and vaping from the popular event out of concern for public health and children.
Smoking had been allowed in designated areas at the fair in past years but this year, the new policy bans smoking completely.
“From a health standpoint, it’s not good for anyone to be exposed to second-hand smoke,” said Chris Darway, president of the fair board. “And because the Mid-State Fair is such a family-friendly event, there are always a lot of children present. Rather than try to contain smoking to a specific area, it’s easier and healthier to just ban it outright.”
San Luis Obispo County enacted its own public smoking ban in 2012, and while other cities in the county have enacted their own bans through the years with SLO City beginning the trend in 1990, in February 2017, Paso Robles became the last city in the county to ban smoking in public places.
The 2017 California Mid-State Fair runs July 19 through July 30.