Posted on 02/19/2004 11:48:22 AM PST by SheLion
Toledo bar owners find loophole to let patrons light up
TOLEDO — James Pierson sat at the corner of the bar with a cigarette in his hand and a court summons in his coat pocket.
The retired autoworker was charged about a month ago with violating the city’s ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.
That wasn’t stopping him from a beer and another cigarette.
"In reality, I’m breaking the law right now," said Pierson, 62, of Temperance, Mich. "Everybody should stand up for their rights."
Defiant smokers and tavern owners in cities where smoking has been outlawed are rising up to protest, staging "smokeins" and filing lawsuits to overturn clean-air ordinances.
"We’re trying every angle we can to get everyone on our side," said Jerry Zaspel, owner of Barb’s Westgate Inn, in Tacoma, Wash.
Driving smokers away will put him out of business, Zaspel said. "It’s not a smoking issue. It’s a survival issue," he said.
Some bar owners in Tacoma refused to put away their ashtrays before a judge threw out the ban Jan. 23. Supporters of the ordinance plan to appeal.
A husband and wife who ran a truck-stop restaurant in Tampa, Fla., wouldn’t kick out the smokers when a statewide ban on smoking began in July.
The stand won the hearts of smokers, but they lost their restaurant when the plaza’s owner evicted them in September for flouting the law.
Nonsmoking ordinances started becoming popular in the mid-1980s as grocery stores banned smoking and restaurants put in seating areas for nonsmokers.
A California law banning smoking in bars and restaurants in 1994 led to another surge in clean-air legislation.
There have been only a handful of victories for smoking-ban opponents.
City council members in Austin, Texas, overturned a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars in October after business owners said it could have a devastating economic impact.
Toledo bar owners have taken the fight against smoking bans a step further by creating a charity to take advantage of a loophole that allows smoking in private clubs and at private social functions.
"Usually it’s a very, very small minority who stands in defiance and it usually lasts about a month," said Josh Alpert, spokesman for Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights.
"What’s happening in Toledo is probably the most creative," he said.
About 40 bar owners formed a nonprofit charity called "Taverns for Tots." They charge patrons $1 for a lifetime membership and promise to donate the fee and 1 percent of their gross receipts to children’s charities.
"It’s a very innovative, creative way of doing a charity, and yes, we can still allow smoking," said bar owner Bill Delaney. "Being innovative and creative — that’s the American way."
A federal judge has put a temporary stop to their plan and is expected to decide by the end of the month whether it can continue, but some of those trying to sidestep the ban still were allowing smoking.
Personal opinions are just like _____________.
Everyone has one!
Actually I was insulting cigarettes, not the people who smoke them. But there is a saying: "You are what you eat."
In your case I guess we must modify it: "You are what you smoke."
Saying that "Cigarettes stink" is a simple statement of fact, not an insult. Get a clue and stop being so defensive about you addiction to cigarettes.
See? There you go again. Attacking me. And I am supposed to sit quietly by and let you trash me and the rest of the smokers in here! That's not in my nature.
But I will tell you one thing: I won't be bothering to continue our little whizzing contest any longer. You are disgusting! And I am sure others in here know exactly what I am talking about concerning YOU!
Here! Talk to this!
All of my comments combined pale in comparison to your moronic and childish responses.
You have totally failed to understand anything that I said from my first post in this thread, which you started.
It is also my nature to comment back, when I am attacked. But I am reminded of the phrase:
"Never argue with an idiot, people will not be able to tell the difference."
So on that note I will stop.
I know I said the last comment was it, but see what you posted to me??? I'm just shaking my head here.........
The will to quit smoking?
I have no desire at this time to stop smoking. I enjoy it, it goes well with my coffee.
I enjoy a cigarette before and after "everything" I do.
I am sure you are right. She is in search of something, understanding, knowledge, approval? I am not sure what it is, but I knew she would prove my point by responding to my last post.
One-Year Assessment of the Impact of a Smoking Ban on Restaurant and Bar Revenues in El Paso, Texas Margaret McCusker, MD, MS and Philip Huang, MD, MPH Bureau of Chronic Disease and Tobacco Prevention Texas Department of Health August 2003
The consideration of how smokefree indoor air ordinances impact restaurant and bar revenues is an issue that frequently arises regarding these public policies. A prior study of four Texas cities with smokefree indoor air ordinances found that implementation of a smokefree indoor air ordinance was not associated with any adverse change in restaurant revenues in Plano and Wichita Falls, and was associated with an increase in total restaurant revenues in Arlington and Austin. In January 2002, the city of El Paso implemented a municipal ordinance that banned smoking in all public places including all restaurants, bars, taverns and work places.
This report evaluates the impact of the ordinance on restaurant and bar revenues in this municipality using quarterly aggregate restaurant, bar and retail revenue data obtained from the Texas state comptroller’s office. Sales tax data (1990-2002) and mixed beverage tax data (1995-2002) were both analyzed. The economic effect of the smoking ban implementation was investigated using a linear regression model. The model included variables representing the impact of the ordinance on restaurant revenues and quarterly (seasonal) trends. The seasonal variables were included to reflect variations in revenue that typically follow a seasonal pattern. Figures 1, 3, and 5, showing the gross restaurant and bar, restaurant-only, and bar-only revenues, indicate that gross revenues continued to increase in all three types of establishments after the smoking ban was implemented. The regression models showed no significant adverse changes in restaurant and bar, restaurant-only, and bar-only revenues and revenues as a proportion of total retail revenues after the smoking ban was implemented in January 2002. Figures 2, 4, and 6 show that no significant changes in restaurant and bar, restaurant-only, and bar-only revenues as a proportion of total retail revenues occurred after the smoking ban was enacted. Mixed beverage revenues remained stable over time in El Paso, with no significant change in gross mixed beverage sales or mixed beverage sales as a proportion of total retail revenues (figures 7 and 8). As of July 2003, revenue data through the fourth quarter of 2002 3 were available (4 quarters since the ordinance was enacted). Subsequent data will continue to be monitored to look for any changes in these trends over time.
Based on the currently available sales tax and mixed beverage tax data, there have been no significant adverse changes in restaurant or bar revenues in El Paso since the comprehensive smoking ban was implemented.
These findings are consistent with prior reports from other cities in Texas and across the United States that smokefree indoor air ordinances do not affect restaurant revenues, and with the effect of the total smoking ban on restaurant and bar revenues in California.
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