Posted on 12/30/2003 5:30:22 AM PST by SheLion
Monday, December 29, 2003
It's nearly the last gasp for smoking bar patrons
University of Southern Maine student Ben Theriault, of Buxton, takes time out from class to enjoy a cigarette in 2002. Starting next month, smoking will be banned in bars in Maine. Smoking is already banned in restaurants and in most public buildings.
To some bar patrons, the haze padding the ceiling and hanging over pool tables is as much a part of a bar as a bank of beer taps.
Those who have become accustomed to the sight, as well as those who are used to puffing on cigarettes between drinks, now have just a few days to savor it - the state's ban on smoking in bars is due to go into effect Thursday.
While officials at the state Bureau of Health and anti-smoking groups have touted the ban's health benefits since it was passed early last summer, bar patrons who frequent Portland's hazy, smoke-filled watering holes view the ban as another example of well-intentioned, yet misdirected legislation.
"(Smoking) is an easy scapegoat for our society's health problems," which are also caused by pollution, fast food and a number of other factors, said Clifford Brown of Portland, who lit a cigarette as he sat at one end of Amigo's Mexican Restaurant on Dana Street. Well over half of those who frequent the bar and restaurant - which has separate smoking and non-smoking sections - smoke cigarettes.
Brown, along with other patrons gathered at Amigo's on Friday, said he opposes the ban on principle. The state should not try to legislate health consciousness, he said.
"If you don't smoke, you don't have to come into a place like this," said Arty Tavano, 40, a cook at Gritty McDuff's on Fore Street. "Bars are here to be smoked in."
Tavano said the ban will not only change the character of many bars in the Old Port, but fill the area's sidewalks with smokers who must go outside to feed the habit. This will cause a slew of new problems that Portland's Police Department does not have the resources to deal with, such as fights and patrons walking out on their bills, he said.
"They're gonna ask cops to tell people not to smoke," Tavano said, laughing.
The ban has also rendered obsolete Gritty McDuff's $60,000 ventilation system, purchased after the state banned smoking at restaurants in 1999 so the bar and grill could continue to allow smoking in one section, he said.
Some smokers said they think the ban will go largely unenforced. Most, however, said they think bars in Portland will adhere to the ban.
"I'm trying to live it up until Thursday," said Brown, 21, as he smoked a Lucky Strike cigarette.
The smoking ban means that virtually all public workplaces in Maine, barring a few exceptions, do not allow smoking indoors. Private clubs such as the Elks may only allow smoking if they close their halls to the public and have no paid employees, or if they close their halls to non-members and all of their employees agree to allow smoking indoors.
Questions remain about who will enforce the ban after it goes into effect.
Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood says he has received "no direction from the state" as to how his officers should enforce the ban.
The state eliminated the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement in June. The department used to make sure bars and convenience stores didn't sell alcohol to minors, so local police departments have already picked up those duties. The smoking ban adds another regulatory duty to the agendas of local police, he says.
"It's not a priority," Chitwood said. "I don't have the manpower to deal with it all."
Although it seems it will take time to figure out the best way to enforce the ban, the law has teeth.
The state will assess a fine of $100 per offense to smokers and bar owners caught breaking the law, according to Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the state Bureau of Health. Mills says bar owners may also be fined for failing to post signs informing patrons of the ban and that liquor licenses may be suspended or revoked after repeated violations.
Local police, the Bureau of Health and the Attorney General's Office have enforcement powers, Mills says, adding that the bureau has set up a Web site and toll-free number (www.tobaccofreemaine.com; 800-560-5269) where bar patrons and employees may report violations of the ban anonymously.
California became the first state to ban smoking in bars when it put a stop to lighting up in taverns and restaurants in 1998. A restaurant-only version of the smoking ban took effect in Maine in September 1999.
Supporters of the law tout the ban's health benefits, as fewer bar patrons and employees will be exposed to second-hand smoke. Mills says the ban may also convince smokers to fire up fewer times while out on the town, and minors to stop associating smoking with recreational drinking.
Opponents of the ban, however, say the financial impact on bars that cater to those who want a cigarette with a drink will be fierce.
Tracy Knight, owner of the Loose Moose Saloon in Gray, owned a bar in Whittier, Calif., when smoking was banned there in 1998. Knight says although she hopes to see no decline in revenue, she expects a 30 percent drop in sales after Thursday.
"I dealt with it in California," she said. "My customers say, 'We'll just stay home and drink a six-pack there.' "
Knight and an association of mostly bar owners have fought the ban since it was passed last summer.
The group tried to gather enough signatures to force a "people's veto" referendum on the legislation, which would have taken place in June 2004, but was unable to meet a tight deadline. It is now trying to gather enough signatures to force a referendum to repeal the ban in November 2004.
That may be too late for a small number of struggling bars and their employees, Knight says.
"The majority of bar owners are struggling anyway - people don't have a lot of expendable income in today's economy. . . . A fourth of the businesses I talked to (during the referendum campaign) were just hanging on."
Staff Writer Elbert Aull can be contacted at 791-6335 or at: eaull@pressherald.com
When did we give such power to the Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine? They are being paid for by the Maine smokers who pay Maine Taxes on cigarettes. What do they do with the money? They sponsor RACING TEAMS and RACE TRACKS across the state, and they use OUR money to ban, control and restrict us.
Does anyone care????
Of course they care...its all for the children. I can't WAIT till they do something like this to ban/regulate fast food.
/sarcasm
Anyone suffering from a smoking ban from across the United States can go to the above link and fill out this form.
You can also check out the following link to see what harm this ban has done across the Country:
BusinessesHarmed by Smoking Bans
Anti-smoking organizations insist that bans are somehow good for people in hospitality businesses. This chart shows otherwise. These businesses have lost a significant portion of their business as a direct result of smoking bans. Many are closed. Many that are still open have told us they doubt they'll survive much longer.
Perfect, eh? Say goodbye to the Constitutional guarantee to face your accuser in open court.
Out F'n rageous!
Wow...take a walk on the wild side.
Must be an old timer.
Camels were the best!
Little hypocritical here, isn't it.
Why not let the bars do this also. If all the employees say it's OK with them, make it a smoking only bar.
If you enter you do so knowing that there will be smoke in the air.
Exactly, metesky. If this weren't so serious, it would be laughable.
To think that Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine was formed AFTER the Tobacco Settlement Money (our money) started coming in that this group was formed.
Through the Maine Board of Health. So.......it's not hard to see WHY they do not call for an all out ban! We are PAYING their hefty wages.
Maine economy is really hurting, but do you think they care? Hell no!
For all of those that do not know: The tobacco settlement money is being paid for by Maine smokers who pay taxes on cigarettes. NOT Big Tobacco and surely NOT Maine Government. But the SMOKERS!
Why not let the bars do this also. If all the employees say it's OK with them, make it a smoking only bar. If you enter you do so knowing that there will be smoke in the air.
Your right, Joe! I sent this URL to many people, plus the writer of this article so they can follow this and pick up on the comments made concerning the Maine ban.
I don't know if I buy this argument. I spent a lot of time in Claifornia during the late 90's. The bars were as hopping as ever- the smokers just stepped outside and had a smoke, then came back in. Granted, doing that in perpetually-warm Southern California is a lot easier than in Maine in February.
SMOKING BAN ACCOMPLISHES LITTLE, OTHER THAN BURDENING BUSINESSES
Oh yes! Our smoking decks in the winter. Just forking terrific!
"I think if the government helps me one more time I'll be out of business," Newlove said as most of his customers nodded in agreement.
Seems to me that it would be more feasible to have business owners offer both smoking and non-smoking restaurants and let consumers decide. But, that would make far too much sense.
That's what we are trying to get ACROSS to these people! Leave it up to the business owner! The business owner can be dictated by his customers if the customers want smoking or not. This should not be left up to the state.
Last I looked, tobacco products and cigarettes were still a legal commodity. Talk about back-dooring everyone!
I wonder just how high tobacco taxes can go? Cigarette taxes are the (seemingly) bottomless pit of money for government. It's kind of amusing- government has an interest in having a certain percentage of the populace smoke and smokers seem to be willing to take any level of abuse (full disclosure- I'm a non-smoker). It's a pretty co-dependent relationship.
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