FeedsRestaurant, bar owners expect no downside
John Goci received some ‘help’ from an unanticipated source recently in his quest to stop smoking: the Michigan Legislature.
After years of putting off a smoking ban in the state, the Legislature picked up the legislation last week and pushed it through both chambers. The partial ban was signed Friday by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
“I’m all for it,” said Goci, who co-owns the U.S. 12 Bar and Grill on Michigan Avenue in Wayne. “I’ve been trying to quit smoking for a while now; maybe this will help.”
The ban will go into effect in May. It bans smoking in all work places-including bars and restaurants-but excludes the gaming floors on the Detroit casinos and in cigar bars.
When she signed the legislation on Friday, Granholm said she had the safety and health of all citizens in mind. She said that secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in Michigan, resulting in about 2,500 deaths each year.
Smoking-related illnesses in adults include heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory illnesses and diabetes. Children and adolescents exposed to secondhand smoke can develop asthma, ear infections, colds and pneumonia, too.
“One of our top priorities has always been protecting the health of Michigan citizens, and that’s what the smoking ban will do,” Granholm said in a prepared statement.
Long history
The news came as both a surprise and a relief for State Sen. Ray Basham (D-Taylor). Basham has pushed the ban for more than a decade-dating back to his time as a member of the House of Representatives. He said he was very happy with the 24-13 approval in the Michigan Senate.
“I have been working to protect the health of Michigan workers for more than 10 years, and today we are taking a huge step forward for the state and executing the will of the people,” he said. “What better way to spread health and good cheer this time of year than passing this legislation to make Michigan workplaces smoke-free?”
In the past, the bill has been held up in part due to concerns about its impact on businesses. But Basham said that there is little evidence that a smoking ban hurts bars and restaurants. There is more evidence, he added, to the contrary. Data from the New York City Department of Finance shows that tax receipts increased by 8.7 percent, or about $1.4 million, after that city went smoke free, said Basham. Between March 2003, when the city went smoke free, and December 2003, there were 10,600 new jobs in its bars and restaurants, he said. Florida saw similar results, and reported that retail receipts for taverns and bars that served food remain unaffected by its smoke free law, according to Basham. Studies have shown that nearly two-thirds of Michigan voters support a workplace ban that includes bars and restaurants.
Thirty seven other states have already put such legislation into effect, he said.
“This is long overdue,” said Basham.
Help or hurt?
Frank Agostini, the co-owner of E.G. Nick’s in Plymouth suspects the new ban on smoking may improve his business.
“We’re primarily a restaurant so I don’t think we’ll see much of an effect,” he said. “Right now, we only allow smoking in the bar area. Such a large percentage of our business is non-smoking anyway, I don’t think the ban will have much impact.
“What I suspect is that maybe we will get some people to come in who might have thought we were too smoky, so it may do us some good,” he added.
Goci agreed.
“Studies have shown that it doesn’t make much of a difference,” he said.
“You have to think about your employees,” he added. “They don’t want to work at a place where their health might be in jeopardy.”
In fact, the ban may save him some money. When he renovated the inside of his business he said he was expecting a smoking ban to go into effect-so he didn’t include new ‘smoke eaters’ into the project. Now he said he’s glad he won’t have to.
Still work to do?
Even legislators who approved the bill were unhappy with certain aspects of it. The exemption for the Detroit casinos-put in place because legislators didn’t want them to face a competitive disadvantage from tribal casinos wasn’t popular.
“Our work is far from over,” said State Sen. Tupac Hunter (D-Detroit). “Including special carve-outs for the casinos is nothing more than a knee-jerk response that buys into lobbyist’s scare tactics about the loss of jobs when their claims have already been proven false in other states.
“Further, the insensitivity that the casino operators have shown on this issue is nothing short of amazing,” he added. “They expect us to prioritize their profit from the vice of gaming-albeit legal-over the health of the very citizens we are elected to serve. The casino operators loved to tout how much they pay in state and local taxes – as if that’s supposed to somehow compensate for the proven health risk that secondhand smoke poses to so many.
“I find it ironic that the smoke free state of Ohio has just approved four new casinos – including one in close-by Toledo. Why in the world can’t we have smoke free casinos in Michigan?”
The plan also bans smoking in outdoor areas, which are considered extension of restaurants, said Tony Bruscato, director of the Plymouth Downtown Development Authority. Outdoor dining is popular in downtown Plymouth and Northville and has been lauded as a way to make downtowns seem more open and pedestrian friendly.
The law bans smoking 30 feet from the doorway to those establishments, which effectively makes it impossible for many restaurants with outdoor patios to allow patrons to smoke there.
“That part doesn’t make sense to me,” said Goci, whose bar offers outdoor seating in the warmer months. He said he’d probably continue to allow it.
Basham said he wasn’t too happy with the amendments, either.
“Ideally, I would like to have seen this bill pass with no exemptions, but I was willing to reach a compromise to see this become law,” said Basham. “I will continue to advocate for the health of all Michigan workers, and I hope we can revisit the issue of casino floors in the future.”
A good first step
Legislators said the partial ban was a good first step to take in making Michigan a healthier place to live and work.
“During my more than 20 years as a respiratory therapist, I witnessed the devastating and often fatal effects of smoking on both smokers and nonsmokers firsthand,” said State Rep. Dian Slavens (D-Canton), a member of the House Health Policy Committee. “The real tragedy of deaths caused by secondhand smoke is that they are 100 percent preventable. Passing this ban to help make our state smoke free is an important part of building a healthier, stronger Michigan.”
State Rep. Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) said it would help workers and could help reduce health care costs, too.
“In these tough economic times, our residents are working hard just to make ends meet and they shouldn’t have to breathe in secondhand smoke just to put food on the table,” said Corriveau, who is the chair of the House Health Policy Committee. “This plan will help bring down soaring health care costs, save thousands of lives and bring us in line with the more than 30 other smoke-free states.”
