AUGUSTA – Cigarette smokers were pushed a little farther away from the State House on Wednesday.

Legislative leaders voted 8-2 to restrict puffers to areas on the south and north lawns of the Capitol, far away from the domed granite landmark.

Previous rules allowed smokers within 20 feet of the State House doors. But Rep. Elizabeth Watson said that rule allowed smoke to drift through open doorways, especially during warmer months.

Worse, said the Farmingdale Democrat, was that schoolchildren had to walk through clouds of smoke when they visited the State House.

Smokers were banished from the third-floor portico three years ago, but smoke continued to drift inside, said Watson. Smokers retreated to the second-floor porch, but were kept 20 feet from the doorways.

Under the new rules, smoking is allowed on the two lawns at the sides of the State House and at designated picnic tables on the Capitol Complex grounds, mostly at the outer perimeter.