Readers: Let Small Bar Exemptions From Smoking Ban Law Expire In January 2016

Nearly three-quarters of readers think the 5-year exemptions from St. Louis’ smoking ban should expire, as scheduled, after January 1, 2016. Nobody selected the option to repeal the ban altogether.

Here are the results from the Sunday Poll:

Q: Small bars were exempted from St Louis’ smoking ban for 5 years, it expires in January. What should happen:

1. Let the exemptions expire as scheduled 37 [74%]
2. Extend the exemptions permanently 10 [20%]
3. Other: 2 [4%]
   1. Extend the extension for smoke shops only
   2. ban smoking in casinos
4. Extend the exemptions for 1-5 years 1 [2%]
5. TIE  0 [0%]
   1. Repeal the smoking ban
   2. Unsure/no answer

I agreed with the one “other” answer that casinos should also be smoke-free.  I’m going to email this to all the aldermen, but I ask you to contact your alderman as well.  Please contact them to let them know the exemptions shouldn’t be extended.

Click here to find your alderman.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: What Should Happen When The Small Bar Smoking Ban Exemption Expires In January?

On January 2, 2016 the 5-year smoking ban exemption some small bars have claimed will expire. Now that the exemptions are nearing their expiration date some want to amend the 2009 law.

This is the basis for today’s poll question.

Please vote above and discuss in the comments below.

– Steve Patterson

Go Smoke-Free, Get Free Advertising

Used to be I had to make sure that, as a vegetarian, I could get something besides a salad when eating out.  Now, my first question about a place is not about the quality of the food, the variety of the menu or the location.  It is whether or not they allow smoking — which ruins it for me if they do.

A recent post (A Smoke-Free Vacation) prompted the following response from a reader:

I’m always a little stunned at this conversation.  40% of St Louis establishments are completely smoke-free.  A vast majority of the rest either restrict it and/or ventilate it.  There are plenty of choices for people who hate smoke, people who smoke and those that don’t care.

I[t] would be a rarity to have to deal with smoke in a dining area St Louis Restaurant.

Read the non-smoking restaurant lists and you’ll find lots of McDonald’s, Subway shops, grocery store deli counters and such.  Not exactly my idea of a nice Friday night dinner out.  Using the “near me” feature on my Urban Spoon iPhone app I get a long list of restaurants downtown but only a handful are smoke-free.  Many of those aren’t even  open for dinner.  Of the non-chain places for dinner in the City of St. Louis too few are smoke-free.

I recently turned down a free meal with a friend at Mike Shannon’s because they have indoor smoking.  I’m not a fan of turning down free food – especially expensive meals.  But I’m no longer going to go along just because a few folks can’t be indoors for a hour without feeding their addiction.  More on that later.

In response to a prior comment I listed the places I’d like to see go smoke-free.  Below is an expanded alphabetical list of nearly 20 places where I have eaten in the past that I’d like to see go smoke-free so I can return:

• Chimichanga
• City Diner
• Joe Boccardi’s Ristorante
• Joanie’s Pizzeria
• Mangia
• Mi Ranchito
• Mike Shannon’s
• Mokabe’s Coffeehouse
• Scottish Arms
• Soulard Coffee Garden
• Stable
• Square One Brewery
• Tap Room
• Three Monkeys
• Triumph Grill
• Tucker’s Place
• Vito’s

You’ll note most of these have non-smoking sections but smoke doesn’t know how to stay out of adjacent spaces.

Here are a couple of places I’ve not tried but won’t because they have indoor smoking:

• Herbie’s Vintage
• William Shakespeare’s

In total it is a pretty long list.  Too long.  So I’ve got an offer for the owners/managers of these establishments.  Go smoke-free and I’ll give you free advertising.  The first one will get a year’s worth, second gets 9 months, third gets 6 months and the fourth gets 3 months.  The establishment must remain smoke-free to continue receiving free advertising.  The entire indoor space must be smoke-free.  Go smoke-free and I’ll help publicize your decision.  Will I get any takers?

Back to the addiction.  My parents were smokers.   In the 80s my dad quite cold turkey.  My mom struggled to quit for 20 years.  Smoking was not a primary factor in their passing, old age was.  I saw, first hand, with them, how addictive smoking can be.  I know many smokers. I would imagine that most would like to be former smokers.  But quitting is not a simple matter.

Often the addicted has an enabler that feeds the addiction — making it that much more difficult to break free.  The “freedom” folks out there enable smokers – ensuring the many places they visit will have other smokers.  So even the person who wants to quit is constantly surrounded by smokers feeding their own addiction.  Giving their brain the nicotine it craves.  The persons talking about protecting the rights of the smokers are really the ones helping to keep the smoker addicted.  They don’t have the strength to quit so they don’t want others to be able to quit.  Misery loves company.

If you own or manage one of the above restarants I’d love to hear from you.  Say your smoking place in the city isn’t on my list but you are contemplating  to go smoke-free, I’ll pretend you were on the list and give you free advertising if you are one of the first four.  This offer expires at the end of June, 2009.

Voluntarily Smoke-Free Restaurants & Bars

Until we have a local, regional or statewide ban on smoking in public places, businesses are free to make the smoking/non-smoking decision for themselves.  As mentioned in a prior post, I’d like customers to let businesses know they’d appreciate a non-smoking environment.  For me personally, I’m only going to patronize 100% non-smoking establishments.  Last night I opted not to join friends for dinner because they were going to a place that was not 100% smoke-free.

People debate studies regarding the health impacts from second-hand smoke.  They advocate costly filtration systems.  I’m not going to get into that, I don’t need to.  I know that when I visited places that allow smoking I’d leave with a scratchy throat, watery eyes and smelly clothes.  Meals would not smell or taste as good.  No more for me.  Enough businesses have made the decision to have a smoke-free environment that I can go out and enjoy a meal and drink without the hassles I find in smoking places.  For now, each business must make the decision for themselves.  And it is a decision.

I believe for many bar/restaurant owners the decision to allow smoking is made out of fear.  Fear of losing the business of smokers.  Fear of not having the right mood — bars are supposed to be smoky, right?  So they open with smoking in the entire place, in a smoking section or at the bar.  Once they are open with smoking permitted, few voluntarily change their policy.

Just as many non-smokers will go to places that permit smoking, smokers will go to places that do not.  A few places I visit that are non-smoking include Crown Candy Kitchen, Crepes in the City, 10th Street Italian, The London Tea Room, The Fountain on Locust, Sen Thai, Lily’s, 10th Street Italian and The Royale.  The owners of these non-chain businesses voluntarily decided their establishments would be smoke-free.  Their place, their right.

I recently sat down and talked with the owners of two of the above, Steve Smith of The Royale and Mary Deacon of Crepes In The City, about their decisions to have their respective businesses be smoke-free. The Royale is a lively bar/tavern that happens to also serve good food. Crepes in the City is a Creperie that also happens to serve alcohol.  Runtime on this video is 8:51:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noZXCbLi_fs[/youtube]

As Smith mentioned he was open for three years allowing smoking before going smoke-free on April 1, 2008.  His business has increased since going smoke-free.  He references a study he conducted of his customers before going smoke-free.  It is interesting reading.  A year ago he announced that The Royale would go smoke-free on April 1, 2008.  I’ve seen people cite studies that show a drop in business in areas with new bans.  A few weeks isn’t enough time to judge.  A year is.  I found it interesting that Smith’s employees that smoke welcomed the change to non-smoking.  Thank you to Steve Smith & Mary Deacon for your time and for creating places I enjoy patronizing!

The hospitality industry website RestaurantReport.com has a section on great debates in their industry, one of which is Smoking in Restaurants.  Here is an excerpt:

Like it or not, it’s inevitable that smoking will be illegal in all restaurants sometime in the near future, and we can talk about what’s going to happen to the hospitality business when this law takes effect. And I suspect that most owners would welcome such a law, and it’s even highly possible that business will actually improve.

If you own a restaurant or bar that allows smoking I ask that you do what Steve Smith did, survey as many of your customers as possible.  Find out if they’d come back more or less if you went smoke-free.  Keep in mind your customers may skew toward more smokers because non-smokers like me may not patronize your establishment because of the smoke.   It is a tough economy, can you survive on smokers and non-smokers willing to tolerate being in a smoking environment?  Don’t wait until a ban forces your business and your competition to go smoke-free, do it now and set your business apart from others.

I still advocate a ban ( city/regional/state) but in the meantime I’d like to see more places voluntarily be smoke-free.

Can We Please Ban Smoking in the St. Louis Region? Missouri?

I really hate cigarette smoke.  Nothing ruins a good meal like someone puffing away at the next table or even the next room.  But it is not just restaurants  I recently went to a local locksmith to have a key made.  I left smelling like an ashtray.  I can’t meet clients smelling like a smoker.

Illinois has had a smoking ban for a year.  I recently had lunch at a sports bar in Granite City, IL — I was able to breath and enjoy my salad.    Oklahoma requires completely separate closed rooms with different HVAC systems in order to have smoking areas.  Would you like that key made in the smoking or non-smoking section?  Both states as well as others with bans still have open businesses.  Despite what you hear, places do remain open.  Some even thrive.

Of course smoking is addictive.  Just like coffee is.  I don’t like either. But I can have a meal with the person next to me getting their morning coffee fix.  People with destructive addictions need help.

Short of a statewide ban we need a more local ban.  But at what level?  St. Louis City is small relative to the Missouri  side of the region.  St. Louis County has 90+ municipalities and quite a bit of area not in an incorporated municipality.  The City of St. Louis or anyone of the 90+ munis in the county could ban smoking but would that just drive business to a neighboring municipality?  I guess those people who must have a Marlboro with their wings just might change where they will eat.

You may have seen the article, “Smoking ban issue resurfaces in St. Louis County”in the Post-Dispatch on the 26th which talked about a letter from five out of the 90+ mayors in St. Louis County urging the St. Louis County Council to ban smoking county-wide. From the article:

The mayors of five adjacent cities in St. Louis County have reignited the smoking ban issue, asking the County Council to ban smoking in public places. Signing the document were Mayors Joseph L. Adams of University City, Jean Antoine of Olivette, Harold Dielmann of Creve Coeur, Linda Goldstein of Clayton and Mike Schneider of Overland.

Thanks to reader “Jason”, I have the letter for you to read for yourself.  Click here to view the 2-page PDF.

As a patron I have the right to avoid businesses that permit smoking, and I do.  However, employees don’t have that luxury.  To keep their job they are often subjected to second-hand smoke.  When they have lung cancer 20 years later we all pay the price as medical costs are boerne by all either through increased insurance premiums or taxes.

I find visiting regions & states with bans more pleasant.  No need to pop into places to ask if they prohibit smoking.  We are competing with many regions & states for jobs and for population.  Banning smoking in public places is a good way to be able to remove an objection for relocating to the Missouri side of the region.

Kudos to these five mayors.  I have sent an email to several members of the Board of Aldermen and Mayor Slay’s staff asking them to pass a smoking ban in the City of St. Louis that would take affect upon approval of a similar measure in St. Louis County.  If St. Louis County did the same we might actually get somewhere in our fragmented region. I suggest you contact your elected official in the city/county where you live to try to get this done.