Smoking policies have always been among the most contentious issues at the New York State Fair, and the arrival of legal marijuana in 2021 made it even more so.
In 2023, the fair adopted new rules intended to move all smoking and vaping — tobacco and cannabis — to designated areas outside the gates.
Those rules remain in place this year, according to fair spokesman Sean Farnsworth. This year’s fair starts Wednesday, Aug, 21 and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 2.
Smoking and vaping are not permitted anywhere within the gates — either indoors or outdoors. Consuming cannabis in other forms, such as edibles, is allowed on the fairgrounds.
The fair’s designated smoking / vaping area can be found outside pedestrian gates 3 and 4 along State Fair Boulevard, 9 and 10 on the west end of the fairgrounds and 11A along Bridge Street.
Fairgoers can obtain wristbands at the gates when exiting, and use them to return to the grounds.
Until recently, smoking was permitted outdoors on the fairgrounds, but not inside any building. In 2022, the designated smoking areas were located inside the gates, then moved outside last year.
Of course, not everyone follows the rules. People can be found smoking behind buildings, in remote corners, and often brazenly out in the open during the fair. But fair staffers are empowered to ask fairgoers to stop smoking on the grounds.
The issue of second-hand smoke became a bigger issue at the fair after recreational marijuana use was legalized in 2021. For that year’s fair, and again in 2022, some fairgoers complained about the presence and smell of cannabis on the grounds.
The new rules implemented last year met with mixed reviews.
During last year’s fair, cigarette smoker Jim Spencer told syracuse.com he believes in “sticking to the rules.”
“I’m not real happy about it, but this is close enough (to the entry gate) that’s it’s not worth complaining about,” Spencer said while enjoying a cigarette outside Gate 4.
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
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