This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The five special smoking rooms for passengers at Salt Lake City International Airport could go up in smoke, so to speak.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 4-0 on Friday to advance SB61 to the full Senate. It would outlaw the current smoking rooms, and prevent similar ones that had been planned for new terminal construction.

No one spoke in opposition to the bill, and numerous health groups supported it.

Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, said Salt Lake City is one of only seven large airports nationally that still allows any indoor smoking — but Denver and Dallas-Ft. Worth are already in the process of phasing them out.

New Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski has expressed support for the legislation to close the smoking rooms.

Airport officials have previously said the smoking rooms feature state-of-the-art ventilation systems that draw in air from surrounding areas, then pump smoke directly outdoors. They said it allows passengers to smoke without leaving secured areas, which would force them to re-enter through long security lines.

However, Vickers said he often smells smoke near the smoking rooms. Also, a 2012 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that smoking rooms at airports, including Salt Lake City, were not effective.

Jamie Rickobono, executive director of the American Lung Association of Utah, testified, "The only effective way to eliminate involuntary exposure to second-hand smoke is to completely eliminate smoking in all indoor areas."

She added that the U.S. surgeon general has found "there is no risk-free level of second-hand smoke."

So she said, "Air travelers and Salt Lake City airport employees deserve the right to breathe smoke-free air."

Vickers said airlines also support his bill. "They recognize that the traveling public is used to that, especially with all the busy airports that do not allow it."

Brook Carlisle, government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, has said allowing smoking areas at the Salt Lake airport dates back to when Delta and Western airlines merged.

"Basically, what Delta said is 'We want smoking rooms or we're going to pull our hub from Salt Lake City.' Obviously, that's something no one wanted, so: smoking rooms," she said.