Impending ban has local smokers livid, bar owners worried

Hungry Horse News

A statewide ban on smoking in public places has smokers here smoking mad.

"I'm so hot I could fry an egg on my head," smoker Don Davisson said at Sportsman Club in Columbia Falls on Friday.

"Next thing they're going to do is outlaw cussing in bars," bar patron Richard Strand said. "I can see them doing it in other places, but in bars it just doesn't make sense."

The ban, which still has to be signed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer to become law, applies to enclosed public places and takes effect Oct. 1. For bars, the ban starts Oct 1. 2009. Schweitzer is expected to sign the bill.

"A bar is a bar," said Janice Hogard as she smoked a cigarette at the Sportsman. "This is Montana. It's taking away smokers' rights. Most people who come to bars come to smoke and drink. It's just not right."

Sportsman owner Fred Peters said this will definitely hurt his business. He said he caters to smokers.

"People come to a bar just to smoke, and I think it should be a sacred place left for people who smoke," Peters said. "There are so many laws and rules. The bar is one of the last best places to get away from society."

At the Columbia Bar, owner Cary Finberg said about 75 percent of his customers smoke and said it will hurt his business, too.

"They give you four years to prepare for it, but what are you going to do?" he said. "How do you prepare for it?"

Finberg said he is unsure just how much of an impact the ban will have. But when they banned smoking in bars in Helena, it affected them greatly, he said. Helena eventually repealed its ban, though the Supreme Court ruled early this week that Helena's ban was constitutional.

Bar owners and patrons said it should be left for the people to decide whether to go to smoke-friendly or smoke-free bars.

"Obviously, the health issues are beneficial for that, but it's a choice situation and they're taking that choice away," Finberg said.

Traci Gulledge, health promotions specialist for the Flathead City-County Health Department, said it's not a matter of choice - it's a public health issue. She said they are protecting people from second-hand smoke, which is as bad or worse for people than actually smoking.

Only 20 percent of Montanans smoke, she said.

"It's obviously going to have a big impact on public health," she said.

She said the ban is the same as government doing food inspections at businesses. The regulations help keep people healthy, she said.

This ban is also meant to protect workers, not just customers, Gulledge said.

"There are various other work site regulations," Gulledge said. "It's kind of the same idea. Bartending and waitressing are good jobs. They have a right to be protected from second-hand smoke just like all others have a right to a safe working environment."

According to Gulledge, this may not mean a huge decline in business for bars. California, which is one of nine other states with a similar ban, had a slight initial drop in revenue at bars, but they rebounded and are now higher than before, she said.

"Historically, that's what happens," Gulledge said. "It's a process of changing social norms."

Coram resident Jess Quinn, who does not smoke, also approves of the ban.

"It's a good thing," he said. "I'm not against smoking, but it does infringe on people who don't smoke. It's a courtesy thing."

He said there are plenty of other places for people to smoke other than enclosed public places.

The Dire Wolf Pub in Whitefish, which opened nine years ago, was the first establishment in the town to serve beer and wine but not allow smoking inside.

Owner Greg Burger said many people were thrilled to have a place where they could drink and eat but not be around smoke.

But Burger said he appeals to a certain niche. They are a family-oriented business.

"We don't get guys who want cocktails and smokes," he said. "For us, nothing is changing."

He said it will be much more of an issue for bars downtown that appeal to smokers.

But Burger doesn't anticipate the ban against bars actually taking effect. He said his gut feeling is that it will be overturned in the next four years.

"I'm sure there is going to be a big fight going on before it happens," he said.