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As we’ve watched smoking bans spread around the world, we’ve never thought to ask ourselves what the bans mean for stage plays that call for actors to smoke. But it turns out this is a big issue in some places.

Colorado’s Supreme Court said this week that the state’s smoking ban applies to actors on stage. Those who argued for allowing actors to smoke said it was a free speech issue; those opposed said it was all about public health. Here’s a key sentence from the ruling:

Because the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act is content neutral and narrowly drawn to further the state’s substantial interest in protecting the public health and welfare, its prohibition of smoking, even in the theatrical context, does not impermissibly infringe on the plaintiffs’ constitutionally protected freedom of expression, as guaranteed by either the federal or state constitution.

Smoking bans in other places give actors more latitude. New York lets actors can smoke herbal cigarettes, and productions can apply for special permission for actors to smoke tobacco on stage. In Minnesota, bars took advantage of a smoking-ban exception that allowed actors to smoke: They staged theater nights in which all comers were anointed as actors, and allowed to smoke in the bar.

Health Blog Question of the Day: Should Smoking Bans Apply to Actors on Stage?

Photo: Everett Collection

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Should Smoking Bans Apply to Actors on Stage?