State Status
No Preemption
Quote
"It's barely controlled chaos [at the local level]. We can't be everywhere at once. I give the anti-smoking people credit for their vision in that area."
Walker MerrymanVice President, Tobacco Institute
Puerto Rico
All Puerto Rico workplaces, including restaurants, bars and casinos, are 100% smokefree as of March 2, 2007. Outdoor workplaces, such as restaurant and bar patios, are also smokefree, as are parks, beaches, and playgrounds, as well as cars when children under 13 years old are present. In 2011, Puerto Rico amended its law to prohibit the use of e-cigarettes in smokefree spaces.
Puerto Rico is a leader in tobacco control and has one of the strongest smokefree laws in the greater United States and is one of the first places to ensure that casino workers were not left behind when it comes to smokefree air rights in the
workplace! Puerto Rico's success has helped to lead the way to other smokefree laws throughout the Caribbean region.
Read more about Puerto Rico's smokefree law in Spanish or English or visit the Departmento de Salud website.
Current tobacco-related statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Puerto Rico Current Legislative Session: 1/14/2013 - 12/31/2016
Quitline Number: 1-877-DEJALOS (335-2576)
Puerto Rico is a U.S. Commonwealth, and there are 78 local municipios, or municipalities. Puerto Rico law permits municipios to adopt ordinances, but smokefree air is traditionally addressed at the commonwealth level rather than the municipio level.
Legislative SummariesArchives
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Action AlertsArchives
News Summaries
- 7/31/2019States Are Thwarting Cities' Attempts to Govern Themselves
- 4/29/2019In Washington, Juul Vows to Curb Youth Vaping. Its Lobbying in States Runs Counter to That Pledge.
- 10/13/2017State lawmakers choose winners and losers through preemption
- 7/6/2017Blue Cities Want to Make Their Own Rules. Red States Won't Let Them.
- 5/10/2017The Threat of Super-Preemption
- 3/6/2017Preemption Prevents Innovation
- 2/21/2017City Rights in an Era of Preemption: A State-by-State Analysis
- 2/2/2017Red State, Blue City
- 1/5/2017GOP aims to rein in liberal cities
- 9/9/2016How ALEC, ACCE, and Preemption Laws are Gutting the Powers of American Cities
- 8/22/2016Blue Cities, Red States
- 6/28/2016Colorado Preemptions of Local Government: The Need for the Colorado Community Rights Amendment
- 6/23/2016State and Local Comprehensive Smoke-Free Laws for Worksites, Restaurants, and Bars--United States, 2015
- 4/6/2016From Fracking Bans To Paid Sick Leave: How States Are Overruling Local Laws
- 4/1/2016Growing Southern cities are increasingly targets of state pre-emption
- 3/25/2016Beyond North Carolina's LGBT Battle: States' War on Cities
- 2/4/2016Corporate Interests Take Aim at Local Democracy
- 8/6/2015Blowing the Whistle on ALEC's Little Brother ACCE
- 7/7/2015Four Ways ALEC Tried to Ruin Your State this Year
- 5/17/2015Say no: States increasingly blocking cities and counties from imposing mandates on businesses
- 5/8/2015State lawmakers hate federal meddling even as they preempt local government
- 3/30/2015The ALEC-Backed War on Local Democracy
- 2/23/2015Govern Yourselves, State Lawmakers Tell Cities, but Not Too Much
- 2/5/2010State Preemption of Local Smoke-Free Laws in Government Work Sites, Private Work Sites, and Restaurants United States, 2005-2009
Press ReleasesArchives
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