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Nipped in the butt: Smoking bans take aim at Big Tobacco but often hit the little guy
WORLD ^ | 5/13/06 | Mark Bergin

Posted on 05/05/2006 11:44:11 AM PDT by Caleb1411

EVERETT, Wash.—Less than a dozen cars speckled the parking lot outside the White Elephant Bar and Grill on a recent Saturday night in this growing Seattle suburb. Inside, most booths and tables sat empty while two electronic dart boards hung unused on the side wall. A handful of customers encircled the restaurant's lone pool table, sipping beers and conversing easily at normal volume levels. Owners John and Donna Kerns leaned on the end of a deserted bar and watched helplessly as their once buzzing establishment choked to a slow death on its clean, smoke-free air.

So it is for thousands of after-hours entertainment spots nationwide struggling to survive a recent spike in state smoking bans. All but two of the 13 states to outlaw cigarettes in bars and restaurants have done so within the past five years. It's a trend that leading anti-smoking fundraiser the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation celebrates as progress in its war on "big corporate tobacco."

But there is nothing big or corporate about the White Elephant. For 54 years, the humble business has carved out a niche among blue-collar workers and amateur singers, providing a festive hub for recreation and karaoke. Six months ago, that hub teemed with activity, drawing several thousand people on any given weekend. Now, business is down more than 50 percent. The Kernses, both in their 60s, have laid off employees and significantly trimmed their hours of operation.

"It's depressing to watch your business dwindle down to nothing," Mrs. Kerns said. "It's a legal product still on the market, and they're telling me to kick my customers out in the cold and rain to have a cigarette. We live in Washington. It's wet here."

The Washington smoking ban, voted into law last November, is the most radical in the country, outlawing cigarette use within 25 feet of public place doors, windows, and entryways—often pushing smokers out from under the shelter of overhangs. The ban does not apply to tribal lands, however, providing Native American casinos a smoker-friendly monopoly.

Implementation has received mixed reviews, with some restaurant owners reporting a slight increase in business as they attract more non-smokers and families. Rob Paulson, owner of the Wedgwood Ale House in Seattle, is thankful for the ban as it spared him the brunt of criticism in converting to a smoke-free dining room—an environment he prefers. "A lot of my staff and a whole bunch of my best clientele are smokers," he said. "I would have been the bad guy. It would have been pretty traumatic."

But even Mr. Paulson admits harboring reservations about such state interference with the rights of private businesses. No one was ever forced to patronize a smoker-friendly bar or restaurant, and the number of smoke-free establishments had steadily climbed to match customer demand. That citizens elected to circumvent the free market—voting out tobacco with their ballots instead of their wallets—betrays a growing belief that government should protect majority preferences over individual liberty.

New Jersey became the latest state to affirm that maxim last month with the implementation of its Smoke-Free Air Act, legislation banning smoking in all indoor public places and private workplaces. Several other states are considering similar bans. Forty-six states now feature at least some restrictions on smoking in public places, suggesting a modern-day prohibition could loom on the horizon.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation president Risa Lavizzo-Mourey has made clear her desire to see every city, county, and state in the country legislate a smoke-free environment. She points to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying that cigarette smoke is responsible for 38,000 deaths each year.

Supporters of anti-smoking laws further contend that secondhand smoke victimizes restaurant workers who cannot afford to quit their jobs and seek out smoke-free employment. But White Elephant bartender Jim Harcrow, 32, says he doesn't need the state to make health decisions for him. He needs a job: "I'd rather deal with a bar full of smoke and get paid than work 18 hours a week and have to stand in line to get food stamps."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government
KEYWORDS: buttlist; pufflist; whinysmokers
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1 posted on 05/05/2006 11:44:14 AM PDT by Caleb1411
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To: Caleb1411

Since the no smoking bill was enacted in NJ last month, there has been no slowdown of business at the local watering holes in the South Jersey area .(SOUTH) meaning the Atlantic City and South area !!!


2 posted on 05/05/2006 11:46:43 AM PDT by Renegade
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To: Caleb1411
Wait a minute, wait a minute.

Let me get this straight ...

You're saying that the policies favored by the Liberal Do-Gooders actually hurt the Little Guy????

Knock me over with a feather.

3 posted on 05/05/2006 11:47:01 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Never question Bruce Dickinson!)
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To: Caleb1411

Is there a "little tobacco?"


4 posted on 05/05/2006 11:47:24 AM PDT by RexBeach ("There is no substitute for victory." -Douglas MacArthur)
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To: Caleb1411

The sad truth is, I've read the same story in so many states after these laws are applied... change the name of the town, the name of the bar, and the names of the characters.... it's the same story.


5 posted on 05/05/2006 11:48:14 AM PDT by theDentist (Qwerty ergo typo : I type, therefore I misspelll.)
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To: Caleb1411

The smoking Nazis will not stop until they are in our homes. Then the backlash happens.


6 posted on 05/05/2006 11:51:10 AM PDT by microgood
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To: Caleb1411
Nipped in the butt: Smoking bans take aim at Big Tobacco but often Always hit the little guy

There. I fixed it.

Big tobacco cannot pay anything it doesn't first collect from the users...

7 posted on 05/05/2006 11:55:07 AM PDT by Publius6961 (Multiculturalism is the white flag of a dying country)
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To: ClearCase_guy
No... but see. Their intention was good. See, they were protecting the little guy from Big Evil Tobacco and they didn't mean to hurt the little guy... (as opposed to Evil Conservatives (purely coincidentally) do help the little guy).
8 posted on 05/05/2006 11:57:17 AM PDT by bigLusr (Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur)
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To: Publius6961
This is simply an escalating war between citizens...

Introducing 'big tobacco' into the discussion is a fraudulent distraction.
Big tobacco doesn't care acting as a tax collector so long as their profits are maintained...

9 posted on 05/05/2006 11:57:41 AM PDT by Publius6961 (Multiculturalism is the white flag of a dying country)
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To: microgood

"The smoking Nazis will not stop until they are in our homes. Then the backlash happens."

Nope. I don't believe there will be a backlash. Just another revenue stream for government. The smoking Nazis are making huge progress. Once they make it so that the only place you can smoke is INSIDE your home, they'll want in there too. They're starting already, laws regarding smoking in a car with children.
Incidentally, this isn't where it stops. Alcohol is next. Eventually, alcohol will be totally controlled.
Next, fat people. Fat people impact healthcare costs, they will attempt to regulate people's eating habits. And after that... my guess is fitness. Mandating a level of fitness. Anything less than an acceptable muscle mass ratio will be illegal or at the very least fined/taxed.

Americans have become docile, and are ready to give up their liberties. And every time I here one of these things discussed, someone will pipe up telling me what a good idea it is, or how it's for your own good.


10 posted on 05/05/2006 11:58:31 AM PDT by brownsfan (It's not a war on terror... it's a war with islam.)
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To: Renegade

Believe me, the law of unintended consequences is hard at work in any neighborhood which enacts smoking bans. At the same time, throwing little privately owned bars and taverns out of business is just a bonus part of the Prohibitionist agenda.


11 posted on 05/05/2006 12:04:19 PM PDT by NaughtiusMaximus (Join me! Every night I pray for Global Warming . (And I think it's beginning to work.))
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To: RexBeach
Is there a "little tobacco?"

Actually, there are a number of them.
Any tobacco company that did not sign on to the Master Settlement Agreement between the (however many) States' Attorney Generals is deemed "little tobacco".

12 posted on 05/05/2006 12:06:20 PM PDT by Just another Joe (Warning: FReeping can be addictive and helpful to your mental health)
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To: microgood
I was doing an EPA method nine test yesterday, in an open field at Elm Brook Recreation Area, in NH, when some commie C word, I am offended type, asked me to put out my butt, I was pissed. Twenty acres and my smoke offended her!

I have been a power plant junkie for almost 40 years and a cigarette offended her, what is she going to do in a pressurized furnace boiler plant, where the sky is blue and the SO2 is an instant hangover cure. I am glad I am retiring

13 posted on 05/05/2006 12:06:30 PM PDT by Little Bill (A 37%'r, a Red Spot on a Blue State, rats are evil.)
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To: Caleb1411; The Foolkiller; Just another Joe; Madame Dufarge; Cantiloper; metesky; Judith Anne; ...

Attention all business owners suffering from a smoking ban.
Please fill out this form and submit it for a new web page
Ban Loss

14 posted on 05/05/2006 12:08:08 PM PDT by SheLion (BEWARE: There are CINO'S among us!!!!)
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To: Caleb1411
No big surprise here.
The chains don't care if there are smoking bans. They have the resources to outlast any temporary dip in profits where the individually owned, and operated, businesses don't.

The chains just sit back and wait. Any business that would have gone to an individually owned place, even after the smoking ban is in place, now must choose between the chains. Their business goes back to where it was, but choice is pretty much gone.

15 posted on 05/05/2006 12:09:21 PM PDT by Just another Joe (Warning: FReeping can be addictive and helpful to your mental health)
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To: SheLion; Ramius
Ping!

The Washington smoking ban, voted into law last November, is the most radical in the country, outlawing cigarette use within 25 feet of public place doors, windows, and entryways—often pushing smokers out from under the shelter of overhangs. The ban does not apply to tribal lands, however, providing Native American casinos a smoker-friendly monopoly.

First time I've seen these facts laid out so plainly. How folks can think this is OK is beyond me.

16 posted on 05/05/2006 12:10:43 PM PDT by RMDupree (HHD: Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/)
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To: Caleb1411
Rob Paulson, owner of the Wedgwood Ale House in Seattle, is thankful for the ban as it spared him the brunt of criticism in converting to a smoke-free dining room—an environment he prefers. "A lot of my staff and a whole bunch of my best clientele are smokers," he said. "I would have been the bad guy. It would have been pretty traumatic."

What a spineless, whiny little man simp!

17 posted on 05/05/2006 12:14:41 PM PDT by DumpsterDiver
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To: brownsfan
Americans have become docile, and are ready to give up their liberties. And every time I here one of these things discussed, someone will pipe up telling me what a good idea it is, or how it's for your own good.

At least some Americans have. The problem with smokers is they are very independent types, and therefore hard to organize. If smokers used the same techniques as gays they could accomplish a lot. It is their own individualism and belief in freedom that is being used against them.

As far as the Nazis go, here is a good quote from TS Eliot:

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
18 posted on 05/05/2006 12:16:47 PM PDT by microgood
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To: RMDupree; Ramius
First time I've seen these facts laid out so plainly. How folks can think this is OK is beyond me.

We don't think it's ok!  We just don't have the money or the backing to take all this garbage to court.  Some bar/restaurant owners have gone to court, but they will be tied up for years over this.  And all the while, the smoking ban is still imposed on them.  Just by going to court and suing, doesn't bring back the right to smoke in their private business.

And every time "some" people see us fighting for the rights of business owners and the smokers, then we are accused of working for Big T.  And that couldn't be further from the truth.

We hate Big T.  They sold us out when they fell to their knees in front of the Attorney Generals. 

19 posted on 05/05/2006 12:17:05 PM PDT by SheLion (BEWARE: There are CINO'S among us!!!!)
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To: DumpsterDiver
Rob Paulson, owner of the Wedgwood Ale House in Seattle, is thankful for the ban as it spared him the brunt of criticism in converting to a smoke-free dining room—an environment he prefers. "A lot of my staff and a whole bunch of my best clientele are smokers," he said. "I would have been the bad guy. It would have been pretty traumatic."

What a spineless, whiny little man simp!

And that's the truth!  I hope the nerd loses everything.  The forker!


20 posted on 05/05/2006 12:18:18 PM PDT by SheLion (BEWARE: There are CINO'S among us!!!!)
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