by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:15 PM ET, Mon June 13, 2016
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
Salt Lake City International Airport has announced that the facility will be closing its five post-security smoking rooms one-by-one, with the final smoking lounge closing its doors permanently by Dec. 19.
According to NBCNews.com, the first smoking lounge at the Salt Lake City airport will close on July 5, and then the remaining rooms will close one at a time until the final lounge is closed during the week of Dec.19.
Salt Lake City mayor Jackie Biskupski announced that the smoking lounges are not included in the airport's $1.8 billion terminal remodel program, which is expected to have phase one completed by 2020.
The airport in Salt Lake City is looking for all the room it can find as it expands, and the combined 1,200 square feet that will be available when the smoking rooms are closed will allow the facility to add amenities such as retail space, charging stations and extra seating.
"This is first and foremost an issue of public health, both for travelers and our airport employees," Mayor Biskupski told NBCNews.com. "Every foot of available space should be used to the best advantage of the traveling public. Some are praising the closures, others are critical."
When Salt Lake City airport finally closes all of its smoking lounges, it will join the more than 600 other airports in the United States that have gone 100 percent smoke free already. On the other hand, major airports such as Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International, Denver International, Nashville International and others that still have smoking lounges or similar smoking areas.
The closures should also benefit anyone who had to deal with the rooms, as there have been major questions about whether the smoking lounges are beneficial or causing more harm than good.
"Research has shown that ventilated smoking rooms and designated smoking areas in airports are not effective," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deputy director Dr. Brian King told NBCNews.com. "This puts people who spend time in, pass by, clean, or work near these rooms at risk of exposure to secondhand smoke."
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