§ 131E-114.3. Smoking prohibited inside long-term care facilities; penalty. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 131E‑114.3.  Smokingprohibited inside long‑term care facilities; penalty.

(a)        Except to theextent otherwise provided by federal law, smoking is prohibited inside long‑termcare facilities. As used in this section:

(1)        "Long‑termcare facilities" include adult care homes, nursing homes, skilled nursingfacilities, facilities licensed under Chapter 122C of the General Statutes, andother licensed facilities that provide long‑term care services.

(2)        "Smoking"means the use or possession of any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, or otherlighted smoking product.

(3)        "Inside"means a fully enclosed area.

(b)        The person whoowns, manages, operates, or otherwise controls a long‑term care facilitywhere smoking is prohibited under this section shall:

(1)        Conspicuously postsigns clearly stating that smoking is prohibited inside the facility. The signsmay include the international "No Smoking" symbol, which consists ofa pictorial representation of a burning cigarette enclosed in a red circle witha red bar across it.

(2)        Direct any personwho is smoking inside the facility to extinguish the lighted smoking product.

(3)        Provide writtennotice to individuals upon admittance that smoking is prohibited inside thefacility and obtain the signature of the individual or the individual'srepresentative acknowledging receipt of the notice.

(c)        The Department mayimpose an administrative penalty not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00)for each violation on any person who owns, manages, operates, or otherwisecontrols the long‑term care facility and fails to comply with subsection(b) of this section. A violation of this section constitutes a civil offenseonly and is not a crime. (2007‑459, s. 2.)