Smoking ban: No butts about it

By Gina Morton
The Daily Item

June 12, 2008 07:52 am

— Brady Fisher said change is always good, and the smoking-ban bill may be beneficial to everyone in the end.
“I expect it to work out,” Fisher, co-owner of the Towne Tavern, Lewisburg, said Wednesday. “In time, it will be a normal procedure.”
The Towne Tavern offers a mixed seating area for both smokers and non-smokers. The ban ultimately will have an effect on the establishment.
“Customers knew it was definitely coming,” he said. “Some think it’s good in a lot of ways, and others will be concerned their rights will be taken away.”
One of those customers is Chris Rohland, of Lewisburg. Rohland is a smoker. “Honestly,” he said, in a slightly sarcastic tone, “I feel there goes another little bit of our liberty and freedom. But I guess the government knows best, and they’re looking out for our best interest.”
Chuck and Janice Bolton, of Lewisburg, both think the ban is a good idea.
“The law will protect people that need to be protected,” he said. “People that smoke shouldn’t have to impose their habit upon other people. It’s also possible that the law will push me over the hump, and I’ll stop smoking.”
Janice Bolton, an ex-smoker, agreed with her husband that it’s a good law. “Now, I won’t have to breathe the second-hand smoke,” she said.
At the Bull Run Inn, across Market Street from the Towne Tavern, Anthony Huffman, a smoker, expressed strong feelings about the law.
“I understand the concept behind the law, but for the most part, I am against it. It’s going to affect a lot of businesses. I know that when I go out and I drink, I like to have a cigarette, and if you have to go outside, it’s going to affect how I feel about going out in the first place. You will have to take time out from enjoying yourself to just go out and smoke.
“I believe it will mostly affect the bar crowd,” Huffman continued. “You’re taking people who are inside, drinking and having a good time and putting them out in the street, perhaps in harm’s way if there is traffic outside. As far as restaurants and hospitals are concerned, I do agree with a smoking ban. Overall, I think this is an infringement on our rights.”
The state Senate approved a statewide smoking ban Tuesday that would make Pennsylvania the 33rd state to prohibit smoking in many workplaces and public areas. The bill was sent to Gov. Ed Rendell, who has said he plans to sign the bill.
After it is signed into law, the law will take effect in 90 days, banning cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking in restaurants, office buildings, schools, sports arenas, theaters and bus and train stations.
Opponents of the bill have said the government is playing against small business owners, potentially hurting neighborhood taverns and eateries where people stay for hours smoking.
Fisher said he thinks the ban initially will cause a decrease in the number of customers, but that eventually will subside.
“I hope it would bring in more (customers),” he said. “It’s a way of life, and it’s a good thing.”
Dale Walize, general manager of the Lewisburg Hotel, also on Market Street in Lewisburg, said banning smoking is a good thing, and his establishment went smoke-free on May 1.
He said since banning smoking in the building, customers have come to accept it, and it has worked out well.
“Part of the reason I did it is I knew the state was going to do something sooner or later,” Walize said. “I struggled with this the past few years. I am a smoker, too, but I felt it was in the best interest of the customers.”
Walize said since the ban has been in effect, several employees and customers have quit smoking, which he is in the process of doing as well.
Additionally, he said it makes things a lot easier, including cleaning. He said there is no longer yellow tar on the ceiling tiles, walls and television sets.
Overall, customers have come to accept the change in rules.
“I gave a six-week warning, and we got some grumbling,” he said. “We gave six weeks to get the barking out. No one was overbearing, it was like anything else. When laws change, those who grumble come to accept it. ... A handful said they would never come back, but we’ve seen them since. We’ve had a lot of encouragement from customers who thought it was great.”
Mulberry’s Restaurant in Danville also has been non-smoking since the bar was added three years ago.
“It’s gone very well,” said owner Matson Pierce. “We’ve had a very positive response. Of course, there is a certain segment of the population who won’t come because they can’t smoke, but in my opinion, (the business) more than makes up for that (with other customers).”
Pierce said he instituted the ban on smoking because he wanted the type of establishment where people could eat and enjoy a cocktail. He said he wanted people to feel comfortable bringing their kids along.
“I’ve had smokers tell me they prefer it this way,” he said. “They can step outside and have a cigarette, come back in and go home not smelling like they were rolling around in an ashtray.”
Despite his own smoking ban, Pierce said he is against the statewide ban.
“It’s unconstitutional to tell a business owner they cannot permit legal activity in their business,” he said. “Since I started the non-smoking, some (other businesses) have changed their policies. The marketplace dictates that, not the government.”
Another restaurant owner, Bob Snyder, agrees.
Snyder, owner of Sunbury’s Peppermint Lounge, said he believes the government is imposing too many restrictions on people in general.
“The consumer should be able to decide where they want to go,” he said, “and if the restaurant offers smoking and they don’t like it, they don’t have to go.”
Snyder said his biggest problem with the legislative smoking ban is that it allows private clubs to have smoking.
He noted in Sunbury alone, there are about 20 establishments with liquor licenses, 11 of which he said are private clubs.
“That certainly impacts bars in Sunbury and in general,” he said. “Where is the fairness in that? ... If you are going to have a ban, it needs to be unilateral. ... If you are going to do something because it’s a safety issue, why would it be unsafe to smoke in one place and not another? It’s like saying Tuesday you don’t have to wear a seat belt but Fridays you do.”
Snyder wasn’t sure how much an effect the ban will have on his business, but was still irked by different aspects of the legislation. Additionally, he questioned the enforcement.
“Is every bar, every establishment, going to have a smoking cop?” he said. “What do you do (when someone begins smoking)? Call the one Sunbury policeman we have on duty? Or who do you call? It infuriates me that the government is putting me in a position to tell my customer, ‘no, I’m sorry, you can’t smoke.’ ... It’s a ludicrous situation.”
Walize said, if anything, the Lewisburg Hotel probably has seen a bit of an increase in business since the smoking ban went into effect.
“It’s been favorable, and people have come to terms,” he said. “Now we will probably see that increase back (even more). If everyone has to do it, people will come to the realization it’s the law now and not just me being prejudiced.”

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