Coming soon: invitation-only smoking parties?

More on Houston's newly expanded smoking ban: Everyone knows the ordinance prohibits smoking in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, but what's still sort of unclear is where people will be able to smoke under the new law. That's because of potential vagueness in the exceptions to the ordinance, which include outdoor patios, private rooms in nursing homes, tobacco shops, cigar bars and designated rooms in meeting facilities during private functions.

The patios and nursing-home rooms don't seem to be a problem, and the ordinance spells out what tobacco shops and cigar bars are: a tobacco shop must bring in at least 60 percent of its revenue from tobacco sales, and a cigar bar must get more than 20 percent of its revenue from the sale of smoking products for use at the bar (and cigar bars have to have been in operation by Sept. 1 of this year, which will keep sneaky bar owners from declaring themselves cigar bars to get exemptions). The real question centers on "designated enclosed meeting areas in convention centers, hotels, motels and other meeting facilities, only during times the meeting areas are in actual use for functions." The ordinance says a meeting facility is a building used primarily for private functions, and a private function is a gathering to which people are invited.

"Nothing here is clear," said Councilwoman Addie Wiseman, who argued that public events could pass as private so long as the organizer sent out some sort of invitation.

Private clubs will have to prohibit smoking just like other workplaces, Marks said. And one room within a public restaurant or bar cannot qualify as an exempted meeting place.

"If we see that somebody is flouting the intent of the law, then we'll deal with it," Marks said.

Another concern among councilmembers was that the exemption for private functions means smoking would be allowed at some city facilities, including the George R. Brown Convention Center. "We tell people that we want them to do it (ban smoking), but we're going to exempt ourselves," Councilwoman Ada Edwards told the Chronicle. "I'm not very comfortable with that."

The expanded smoking ban will take effect in September.