A month later, the city rises from ashes of a smoking ban
After the smoking ban, Columbia might not seem much different, except for one thing: Our eyes, noses and taste buds can all function properly when we sit down with friends at our favorite bar or restaurant. Since the smoke has cleared, residents are learning to adjust to life minus the nicotine and secondhand smoke.
Around the United States many cities are imposing smoking ordinances. In San Francisco and surrounding cities, smoke-free regulations are being created to purge outdoor smoking. Many Denver news sources are discussing how the city plans to enforce indoor and outdoor smoking bans.
On Jan. 9, Smoke-Free Air For Everyone and other nonsmoker grassroots groups asked the community to come out and support the success of their efforts to get a smoke-free city.
“We encouraged people to dine out the first night of the ordinance,” says Dean Andersen, co-chair of S.A.F.E. “It seems as though from the feedback we were getting that lots of businesses were doing really well.”
The Columbia/Boone County Health Department tells citizens to call their hot line and complain or report an establishment that isn’t following the smoking decree. If an establishment or customer is found in violation of the ordinance, the Health Department will document the complaint and send an environmental health specialist to the establishment. If the problem continues, the Health Department calls on the police. Police can then issue a ticket. The fine for violating the new rule can cost as much as $200, says Heather Baer, spokesperson for the Health Department.
“There have been about 16 complaints to date that apply to the ordinance,” she says. “But no tickets have been issued.”
With fewer than 20 complaints, it appears patrons are complying with the ordinance. If the customers are seen lighting up, they are asked (or forced — depending on whom you talk to) to leave the place of business.
“I support the idea,” says Jay Sparks, manager at Tropical Liqueurs on Broadway. “But I didn’t think that the legislation or the city should have the right to tell us what we can and cannot do.” Tropical Liqueurs is adding heaters to its patios at both locations to accommodate smokers, he says.
Many residents believe that their personal rights are being violated when the state or local government steps in and attempts to regulate personal freedoms.
“I hate smoking, but I don’t think that it should be banned from bars,” says Nichole Brand, a senior at MU. “I don’t think that it’s fair to those who want to smoke.”
The City Council did not create this ordinance to punish smokers but as a measure to aid citizens with allergies and respiratory problems and also to benefit employees who work long shifts in bars and restaurants, says their Web site. The Surgeon General of the United States said in a speech last year that restaurant workers are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace as opposed to other work locations and are less likely to be covered by workplace smoke-free policies.
“There were a number of people that work in bars and restaurants, and they were telling us that they were excited about the ordinance being passed because they were sick of breathing smoke at work,” Andersen says. “Some of them were afraid to tell their employers because they were afraid they might get fired.”
Many restaurant patrons are enjoying the new ban and feel that it is a good thing.
“I like the fact that I can taste my food,” says Columbian Bellyn Kaplan.
Customers like Kaplan are taking pleasure in going home after eating out without the smell of smoke lingering in their clothes and hair. They are actually able to enjoy the atmosphere and the food minus the ashtray stench. Doug Ritchie, an MU student, echoes those sentiments:
“Smoking just stinks up the building,” he says. “If you want to smoke, go outside. Smokers should respect others’ health.”
The future is clear: The bar and restaurant scene will never be the same. Although this might take some getting used to by smokers and nonsmokers alike, residents are sure to have clear lungs while socializing indoors.
“We haven’t really decided what we are going to do next,” Andersen says. “We don’t see this as [a] ban because people can still smoke, just not in bars and restaurants. We see it as regulating smoking. We are going to see how this ordinance is accepted.”