2006 New Mexico Statutes - Section 24-16-2 — Declaration of policy and intent; public health.

24-16-2. Declaration of policy and intent; public health.

The legislature finds and declares that the smoking of tobacco, or any other weed or plant, is a positive danger to health and a health hazard to those who are present in enclosed places and that smoking in such areas should be confined to designated smoking areas. The legislature further declares its intention to protect the public health from such hazards in public places and places of employment without imposing exorbitant costs on persons in management and control of the places subject to the Clean Indoor Air Act [ 24-16-1 NMSA 1978]. It is not the intent of the legislature to preempt the field of regulation of smoking in public from the enactment of ordinances by local governing bodies which are not inconsistent with the Clean Indoor Air Act.