Restaurant Related News

Legislature Considering Outlawing Smoking in Bars

By: Bonnie Washuk
Source: Sun Journal - Lewiston, Maine
Published: April 29, 2003

Some lawmakers, including Gov. John Baldacci, are posed to outlaw smoking in bars. If they do, Maine could be the fifth state to ban smoking in bars.

Earlier this month the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee voted 12-1 to ban smoking in bars effect Jan. 1. The only exception would be off-track betting parlors.

The same committee also voted 10-3 to ban smoking at bingo and Beano games.

The committee's recommendations will be considered by the full House and Senate when the bills reach the floors for votes. That is expected in the next few weeks.

"If the bill reaches his desk, he more than likely will sign it," Lee Umphrey, Baldacci's director of communications said Monday. Having smoking banned in bars "clearly reflects his interest in a healthy Maine," Umphrey said.

Sponsor Sen. Karl Turner, R-Cumberland, said he wants to protect bartenders, waiters and waitresses and others from secondhand smoke. Given the fact that secondhand smoke has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a Class A carcinogen, and is a known cause of lung cancer, asthma and other diseases, Turner asked how can the state allow a workplace to exist where workers are exposed? "The evidence is overwhelming," he said.

There are excellent paying jobs in bars and taverns, but people should not be subjected to something that could hurt them to earn a living, Turner said. Nor should any employer or manager feel comfortable exposing workers "to something that causes disease."

Others on the committee, including Rep. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, and Rep. Will Walcott, D-Lewiston, agreed.

"I'm concerned about workers, people in there who don't smoke," Walcott said. Many bars are small, and the second-hand smoke is concentrated. "Secondhand smoke is a killer." Banning smoking in bars "is the right thing to do," Walcott said. Less secondhand smoke would help lower health care costs in Maine, he said.

That was confirmed Monday by Gary Adams, owner of the Ramada Inn. His lounge has been smoke-free for two years, and his entire complex became smoke-free recently with no guestrooms designated for smokers. "We did it on customer request," Adams said. Complaints about secondhand smoke have become more prevalent, he said. Banning smoking in the bar did mean that some regulars stopped coming, but others who stayed away because of the smoke have become new patrons, Adams said. "And it will be easier when it is universal, versus selective" lounges that have gone smoke free, he said.

Other establishments, such as J's Oyster in Portland, have told lawmakers they're opposed to the bill and worry that the bill could put them and other bars out of business.

Craven, Walcott and Turner predicted the bill will pass and be signed by the Governor. Dr. Dora Mills, director of the Bureau of Health, testified for the bill, an indication the Governor favors the bill.

But Rep. Edward Dugay, D-Cherryfield, the lone committee vote against, said Monday he "doesn't buy" the argument that the bill is all about protecting bar workers.

Bartenders and wait staff don't have to work in bars and lounges, they can work someplace else, Dugay said. He's spoken to several bars in his district where the owners have spent thousands on equipment to have smoke removed. It would be unfair to them to change the rules, Dugay said. Instead of a statewide smoking ban in bars, he'd favor more regional or municipal bans.

Dugay predicted the bill will not pass. "I know the vote is 12-1 in committee, but I think I can turn this around when it gets to the floor," he said.