You may find it hard to believe that there’s any major city in the U.S. still allows smoking in this day and age. Fort Worth enacted a smoking ban in 2007, but allowed exceptions for bars and bingo parlors. According to the Dallas Morning News, the city recently decided that as of March, smoking will no longer be allowed in bars and bingo parlors.

Fort Worth already had an ordinance that prohibited smoking in office buildings, restaurants, and other businesses. However, an exception allowed smoking in standalone bars and in bingo parlors.

As reported in October, Fort Worth approved a ban on smoking in bars and bingo parlors. However, the issue still had to go before the City Council for approval and an implementation date. 

Now the City Council has confirmed their approval of the restrictions on smoking. The date when the rule goes into effect is March 2018.

According to previous coverage of the issue, Mayor Betsy Price and local anti-smoking advocates applauded the change. Fort Worth was the last major municipality in Texas to still allow smoking in bars and private clubs.

The only exception to the ordinance now is for shops whose primary business comes from selling tobacco and tobacco-related products.

The Fort Worth City Council will revisit the issue of smoking analogs, such as e-cigarettes and vaping, at an as-yet-unscheduled future date.