Council: No more smoking in Nashville bars

The days of patrons smoking in Nashville dive bars will soon be a thing of the past.

The city's council passed an ordinance Tuesday that prohibits smoking tobacco products in businesses limited to ages 21 and older.

The law will go into effect March in an effort to give businesses time to adjust. After that date, people violating the ban will face a $50 fine.

The ordinance passed 30-4, with Council members Jonathan Hall, Sean Parker, Zach Young and Tanaka Vercher voting against the bill. Council member Antoinette Lee abstained.

The rule will not apply to hookah bars or hemp vapor bars thanks to carve-outs approved by Metro Council.

The council rejected a provision that would have exempted a few dozen long-running Nashville bars for whom indoor smoking is part of their "culture."

Smoking indoors has been illegal in most Tennessee establishments since the passage of the Non-Smokers Protection Act in 2007. That law exempted some businesses restricted to ages 21 and up, but state lawmakers passed a law in July allowing local governments to regulate smoking and vaping in those venues.

The new state law exempts cigar bars and retail stores where the largest category of sales is tobacco or vape products and accessories.

At least 56 Nashville bars currently allow smoking.