Yes, Boston has become one of the first major cities in the nation to ban smoking in the privacy of your hotel room — any hotel room. For years, many rooms have been designated non-smoking because of the lingering odor of tobacco. Now, in Boston, all rooms are non-smoking.
Here is the wording from the Boston Public Health Commission board. I have highlighted the portions that apply to hotel rooms.
The board also voted to expand workplace smoking restrictions to include adjacent areas such as patios and loading docks, and to prohibit smoking in hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts in Boston. Those changes immediately go into effect.
Several of our readers have already written to us saying they have canceled plans to visit Boston. Naturally bulletin boards and groups are humming with comments. This is from the TripAdvisor Forums:
See in Massachusetts…you don’t have many rights. Big goverment and massive social control is what most citizens here believe in. That is why we keep electing these types of officials who pass these laws without any vote. They limit freedoms because goverment knows whats best…or so the people of MA believe.
Another poster mentioned that he would only get concerned when the city bans smoking outdoors. They already have banned smoking outdoors “near” public buildings, restaurants and schools. If I were he, I would start worrying.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
