laws on smoking & Drinking (Atlanta, Fayetteville: sales, house, buy)

[Gal5]

Can you please tell me the laws in GA reguarding drinking and smoking??? We can smoke and drink in Tx but I have heard somehthings about the laws in Ga.

[xxman777]

What are your wondering?

You can't smoke in any restaurant or bar where there are minors (under 18).

You can't buy alcohol from a store on a Sunday

You can't buy a drink from a restuarant or bar until noon on Sunday (that might be Atlanta only, I'm not sure)

Generally only liquor stores have hard liquor, grocery stores and convenience stores often have wine and beer

Georgia has some very stringent wholesale laws which sometimes makes it tough for you to import your local brew

I think these are the big ones.

[irvm]

I honestly don't know if it is a LAW or not, but you will not see smoking in stores (grocery, Walmart, Home Depot, etc) at all. Nor in any office I've been into in the past few years.

[Gal5]

ok thats the same as here in Tx. I had heard that if you get caught in Ga smoking infront of your kids or in your house that you could be charged with child abuse and that drinking was on the outs there with most people. I guess i just talk to someone that really frowns on that. Thanks for the info

[ATLienGirl]

Originally Posted by Gal5

ok thats the same as here in Tx. I had heard that if you get caught in Ga smoking infront of your kids or in your house that you could be charged with child abuse and that drinking was on the outs there with most people. I guess i just talk to someone that really frowns on that. Thanks for the info

Wow, where did you hear that from? I have never heard of that and I am a Georgia native.

[xxman777]

Originally Posted by Gal5

and that drinking was on the outs there with most people.

Depends on where you are. I hear that in some of the really rural towns people really are very opposed to drinking. The south is full of baptists and strict baptists don't believe in drinking. Some counties or towns are even dry. If you are in a city though, they are just like any other city. Certain people will look down on you (maybe more here then somewhere else) but lots of people drink.

Originally Posted by irvm

I honestly don't know if it is a LAW or not, but you will not see smoking in stores (grocery, Walmart, Home Depot, etc) at all. Nor in any office I've been into in the past few years.

I think that is the same everywhere in the US. Isn't there a federal law saying something like if you employ over a certain number of people you have to provide a smoke free work environment? I'm not really sure, but it seems like there is something like that. I've never been in any retail store and seen smoking.

[Gal5]

I was in a chat with some people getting info on the State. We are moving there within a month and I was just casually asking mute questions that popped into my head. Come to think of it now it did sound like a Sunday morning hell and damnation speech. Im not perfect but I do smoke and hubby does drink beer. Wheeew Im glad I asked in here, for a moment I was nervous of coming but Im good now. Packing is going so slow I hate packing and movingbut I cant wait. Hubby got there last night and says Ga is beautiful and that Im going to love it. I CANT WAIT

[Padgett2]

It will vary from county to county, and from city to city with the unincorporated areas abiding by the county regulations.

In regards to smoking, any privately owned building, even though it's available to the public, can restrict smoking.

[Prichard]

The best thing a county can do in Georgia to preserve its rural charicter is stay dry. Personally, I wish all of the North Georgia Mountains were in dry counties.

[zebbie]

I live in Georgia and the laws concerning wine and beer and liquor really vary. I can't tell you which county or town has which law ('cause there are SO many counties, it's amazing). In some places you can have wine or beer (don't know about liquor) in restaurants on Sunday with a meal, but I think NOT buy it in stores. Other places, no wine or beer (again, don't know about liquor). I was told recently that in some place (and who knows where) that wine and beer (maybe liquor) CAN be bought on a Sunday, but only after noon or a little later. And, it almost seems as if sometimes there are different rules for different parts of some counties. I was told recently that one could have wine with a meal in a restaurant on a Sunday in a particular (tiny) City in one of the counties, but not in other towns or areas of the county. In fact, recently we were over in Fayetteville on a Sunday at World Market and noticed a sign on the door about no wine or beer sales on Sundays (so I guess a lot of people don't know the rules).

We come from a city in the West where beer, wine and liquor are sold in grocery stores any time day or not and and in any restaurant that has the appropriate wine and beer or liquor license (different licenses).

Since it appears you're moving to Georgia, you'll see what I mean about the counties and towns -- it's not uncommon to live in one county and have a meal in a restaurant in another. BTW, I haven't noticed any strange looks if we are out to dinner on a Sunday and someone in our party orders a glass of wine, even with the others in the group are personally opposed to drinking at all.

In our area the phrase, "would you like a drink?" means a SOFT drink. This was funny to me as "a drink" means an alcoholic drink to me. Undoubtedly, different areas in Georgia have different terms for soft drinks.