Starbucks Extends Smoking Ban to 25 Feet within Coffee Shop Entrances

Smoking is now forbidden outside Starbucks coffee shops in North America. Smokers need to put out their cigarettes before approaching any Starbucks for their daily coffee runs. Coffee and cigarettes a classic pairing is now being abolished by the Seattle-based coffee giant. From today, June 1 onward, smokers will not be allowed to light up within 25 feet of all 7,000 Starbucks coffee shops in the United States and Canada.

The announcement was made by the Seattle-based coffee chain on Friday, giving Starbucks regulars one day’s notice of the new policy. But for those who can’t do without coffee and cigarettes, they may look for the nearest of 4,000 licensed shops housed within Barnes & Noble, Target, and other retailers. These locations happen to be exempt from the ban.

Immediate action

Jaime Lynn Riley, spokeswoman for Starbucks US said that if customers would be found smoking within the restricted area, they “would hope to resolve it amicably.” She added that the company has always valued customer feedback and would make sure that conflict does not arise from this new rule.

Still, the global brand is determined to put an end to the popular pairing of cigarettes and coffee. The ban includes electronic cigarettes as well.

Corporate responsibility

Riley added that the company wants to provide their patrons a healthy and safe environment and they want the experience to be consistent in all their stores. She clarifies that the policy stemmed from “a sense of responsibility.” A ban on smoking inside the stores is already in place. The first Starbucks Corp. smoking ban was implemented in 2010 and covers café interiors only.

For several years now, there has been a call via an online movement for Starbucks to ban smoking. The extended ban is a triumph for the movement. Perhaps it is not coincidence that the announcement was made on May 31, World No Tobacco Day, observed annually by the World Health Organization.

Scope and limitations

The extended ban on lit cigarettes puts the no-smoking zone from every store entrance whether the outlet has an outdoor area to seat people or not. The ban is flexible and limited within the space leased by the company and does not extend beyond those boundaries. This makes the smoke-free radius different for each location. For a Starbucks café that only has 15 feet of space from the entrance to the boundaries of its lease agreement then the ban extends only to 15 feet for that particular location.

Bigger area than government buildings

A smoking ban is already in place in state buildings across the United States. Cigarette smoking is prohibited within 20 feet of the entrance of these buildings. Starbucks’ extended ban goes five feet beyond that established by the government.

In Canada, cities and provinces also have laws that ban smoking within varying distances from the entrance of a public building. It is also common in Canada to ban smoking in privately-owned covered patios and facilities owned by the government. For certain areas that are already within smoking bans imposed by other business entities in the vicinity, the outdoor expansion of the Starbucks ban would only fortify the existing prohibitions on smoking.

Photo Credit: Starbucks