Maine: Smoking may return to vets' clubs

02/02/2006 - AUGUSTA -- Veterans who smoke can, for the moment, breathe in a hazy sigh of relief now that the exemption that allowed smoking at private clubs, such as American Legion halls, is no longer threatened.

Not only did the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services strike down a bill threatening the clubs' exemption, but it sent an amendment to the House that would make it easier for veterans to smoke in private clubs.

Current law requires clubs with paid employees to obtain a "yes" vote from a majority of its entire membership before smoking can be allowed.

Representatives of veterans' groups told legislators that it is unrealistic to expect a club with membership of around 1,000 members -- only 25 of which are active -- to obtain a majority vote on anything. Veterans complained that clubs whose active members want to smoke are forced to remain smoke-free because of this.

The law is unfair and discriminatory against smokers, according to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6859 Adjutant Tom Lussier. "Smokers in this country have become bad people," the Portland veteran said. "You have made them bad people. ... A nonvote in any democratic society doesn't equal a 'no' vote."

Representatives of the American Legion, the VFW, the Eagles and other veterans' clubs said they agreed. Most veterans who spoke were united in the idea that private clubs should be allowed to decide on their own whether to smoke or bar smoking, and the decision should be made only by those present for the vote.

One veteran disagreed, however. Army veteran Dean Grivois of Van Buren said that any exemption allowing smoking for veterans' clubs was discrimination against nonsmoking veterans.

"My wife and I do not frequent the veterans bar, because within an hour, we cannot breath, our eyes are red and our clothes smell," he said to the committee. "As a veteran, I would love to see this organization treated as all other businesses in the States. They should not have this as a special privilege, because it causes harm to their health, and to the health of their comrades."

Grivois' opinion was backed by representatives of the American Cancer Society, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Maine Coalition on Smoking or Health.

"It is well-established that exposure to secondhand smoke is a serious health threat," said Paul Kuehnert of the Center for Disease Control. "Over the past two decades, medical science has proven that nonsmokers who breathe secondhand smoke suffer many of the diseases of active smoking, including heart disease, lung cancer and asthma."

Kuehnert said that his office has received numerous calls from employees who said club members tried to intimidate them into voting to allow smoking. Kuehnert said his office referred the calls to the attorney general.

Maine's Tobacco Control coordinator, John Archard, confirmed that the attorney general's office did receive about 100 calls on the matter, 30 of which were specific complaints of intimidation. Archard told the committee that club employees across the state also complained that members were "stuffing the ballot box, having an open ballot box on the bar."

"We've heard of many, many voting irregularities," Archard said.

Archard and other health officials urged committee members to vote in favor of the bill proposed by Sen. Karl W. Turner, R-Cumberland, which would have eliminated the option of clubs to allow smoking. All members present, except for William R. Walcott, D-Lewiston, and Elizabeth S. Miller, D-Somerville, voted against Turner's bill.

In the end, they unanimously voted in favor of the bill proposed by Rep. Carol A. Grose, D-Woolwich, which proposed that the smoking decision of private clubs be made based upon a majority of votes cast, not a majority of the total membership of the clubs.

They recommended the bill pass with the following amendments:

Clubs give members 30 days of notice before votes.

Absentee ballots must be provided upon request.

No intimidation be allowed

Ballots must not be accompanied by literature intending to sway voters.

Feb 4, 2007 - wind chills -30 tonight.  If anyone thinks that it's a good idea to force a fellow American outside in this weather just to smoke has a few screws loose!!!

N.J. lawmakers misstep with smoking ban

01/30/2006

It's easy for lawmakers to make decisions for others, especially when they aren't held responsible for the consequences.

Freep Springfield, IL city council Meeting tonight at 6PM Call 789-2151 Reject Total Smoking Ban

12-08-05

SC: Another Ban Failed: SC NO Ban for Florence City

12-07-05

Chicago aldermen reach deal on smoking ban

12-07-05

Westin chain to ban smoking nationwide

12-06-05

Thursday, June 3, 2004

Maine: Bar smoking ban: Air cleaner, business down

By CHRIS CHURCHILL
Staff Writer

 
Six months ago, Maine took the smoke out of its smoke-filled taverns. Some bar owners still aren't happy with the change.

They say customers disappeared when the law went into effect in January. The president of the Maine Restaurant Association says business is down by 30 percent at some establishments, especially those near New Hampshire, where tavern air retains its smoky haze.

"Business is off big-time," Dick Grotton said. "The law continues to be a source of extreme irritation."

But proponents of the ban believe it's a logical addition to a series of laws that have nearly eliminated second-hand smoke from Maine's public places. They say it's been beneficial for bar and restaurant employees and add that many Mainers are now enjoying nightlife they once shunned

"We've had many, many more positive remarks about the law than negative," said Dora Mills, director of the Maine Bureau of Health. "People are enjoying going to places that are now smoke-free."

"I think it has gone very smoothly," said Ed Miller, who heads the American Lung Association of Maine. "Maine people have adapted well to the change."

The law, which the Legislature overwhelmingly approved, made Maine the fifth state to ban smoking, after California, Delaware, New York and Connecticut. Massachusetts is expected to soon pass a similar ban.

An earlier Maine law banned smoking in restaurants, although many continued to allow smoking by operating under a tavern license. The law requires all Maine businesses that sell alcohol to also sell food.

Even though few taverns refused to comply with the law, according to the Attorney General's office, the measure quickly met organized opposition from those who said state government was infringing on a decision best left to bar owners.

John Michael, a former state representative from Auburn, organized a group, the Maine Freedom Committee, that vowed to reverse the law. But the group missed an autumn deadline to gather the nearly 51,000 signatures needed to force a vote on the smoking ban -- and the effort seems to have lost steam.

Deborah Danuski, the committee's co-chairwoman, said she has fallen out of touch with Michael and isn't sure where the drive now stands.

Even some opponents now say efforts to overturn the law are unproductive.

The owner of John Martin's Manor in Waterville doubts he would bring back smoking if voters -- or the Legislature -- overturned the law, even though business at his off-track-betting parlor has dropped 7 percent since the smoking ban.

"I enjoy coming home not smelling like smoke," he said.

Moriah Giguere, manager of Spirits in Waterville, said nearly every bar has lost customers since the ban. But she admitted the law has been good for bartenders; she feels healthier now, she said, and no longer has a sore throat at night's end.

Still, some bar owners are sore that lawmakers gave private clubs an exemption to the ban; they believe the clubs are benefiting at their expense. Other bar owners say they've been forced to undergo expensive projects to keep customers from having to smoke outside.

Supporters of the law are urging bar owners to be patient. They say six months isn't enough time to accurately judge the bill's economic effects, and note that studies done in other states report no drop in overall business due to smoking bans.

Dr. Susan Swartz, medical director at the state's Center for Tobacco Independence, said taverns will save on cleaning costs and have healthier and more productive employees. She also said bar owners should be able to tap into a new group of customers.

But some bar owners fear their smoking customers are gone for good, like the smoke that once filled their taverns.

"I don't believe the health community ever grasped the financial impact of this," said Grotton, of the Maine Restaurant Association. "The law brought forth great pain."

Chris Churchill -- 487-3288

[email protected]

Kennebuc Journal

INFORMATION YOU NEED TO FIGHT BACK!  

'Where are my nonsmokers that the city promised me?'

July 20, 2005

 MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Some Madison tavern owners say their revenues are going up in smoke because of the city's new smoking ban in bars and restaurants.

The city ordinance took effect July 1, with Madison joining about 20 other Wisconsin cities with some kind of ban on smoking.

The move created a firestorm of controversy, with smokers accusing the City Council of trying to run their lives. A faction of aldermen already wants to repeal the ban, and Republican legislators are trying to pass a bill to water down local ordinances statewide.

''It's terrible, absolutely terrible,'' said Cal Beecher, owner of the Tip Top Tavern. ''I've been here 32 years. It's going to close me down.''

Terry Olson, co-owner of Ole 'N Rick's North Side Inn in Madison, said business is down 60 percent and he started cutting back shifts for three or four bartenders Monday.

''If we can't make it with that, we'll have to lay somebody off,'' he said.

Owners said blue-collar bars on the city's east side are being especially hard hit by the new rules. First-time violators face up to $125 in fines if they don't quit or leave. A second offense carries a maximum $500 fine.

Ryan Eisenhut of Cottage Grove said he used to hit Madison bars at least three times a week on his way home from work. On Wednesday, he was at Tully's II in Monona.

No fun anymore

''The downtown bars are fun, but not anymore. The fact that they don't have smoking now, I won't go there,'' he said. ''Wait until it's 10 below and they try to get people out there in the parking lot [to smoke].''

Patty Telvick, general manager of the Buckeye Inn, said her regulars have disappeared and nonsmokers have not taken their place.

''Where are my nonsmokers that the city promised me?'' Telvick said.

Dave Wiganowsky, owner of Wiggie's, said nonsmokers do not spend enough to make up for the loss of customers.

''We had two nonsmokers,'' Wiganowsky said. ''They bought two cans of pop and said, 'Isn't this wonderful?' and walked out. That won't pay the light bill.''

Meanwhile, bars just outside Madison are reporting an increase in customers.

In Fitchburg, Monkeyshines has ''picked up quite a few customers,'' said day manager Jason Cushman.            

Legal Product!  Exactly.  If Maine went tobacco free, then Maine Healthy Partners Coalition would be looking for another job, since the taxes smokers pay on the state's cigarettes are paying their wages!

Maine: Six months on, opinion still split on smoking ban

Bangor Daily News - 6-3-04

Business at some establishments is down by 30 percent, especially at bars near the New Hampshire border.
"Business is off big time," Dick Grotton said. "The law continues to be a source of extreme irritation."
"I don't believe the health community ever grasped the financial impact of this," Grotton said. "The law brought forth great pain."

Maine: Smoking ban suffocates profits at area bars ~ and so it starts....

2-16-04

Houlton, Maine Smoking Ban

1-30-04                 

"I've never seen it like this before," Drake, a smoker, said Wednesday. "It's like all the customers just disappeared." The smoke has vanished into thin air, but so have the patrons.

"I can't believe that the state did this," Rick Kelley, owner of Ivey's Motor Lodge, said late last week. "The state really made a backwards move."

Smoking ban burns businesses

4-13-04 ~ Seattle

Other bar and restaurant owners say they have fired employees or cut back hours because of sudden drops in revenue.

Smoking bans could snuff out small bars, eateries

3-23-04 ~ DC

article here

For restaurants' banned smokers, it's great outdoors

3-15-04 - Florida

"If all the smokers had gone out and voted, the turnout would have been different," Suave said. 

article here

How's business since smoke has cleared? (Dallas smoking ban - restaurant sales est. down 25%)

03/01/2004 - article here

1-19-04 -   Maine Smoking Ban Drives Smokers Over Border

Maine: It's nearly the last gasp for smoking bar patrons 
Monday, December 29, 2003 -

article here

Businesses Harmed by Smoking Bans

The Facts

The Facts - Business's Harmed By Smoking Bans

click here

It was just on MSNBC that Buddy's BBQ (Florida) is protesting the smoking ban. She has this huge pig on top of her building with a smoking cigarette COMING OUT OF HIS BUTT!

The lawmakers were getting complaints and told her to MAKE THAT PIG STOP SMOKING!

Well, Buddy said it's HER building and she will do what she WANTS to do with it!

YOU GO GIRL! WE ARE WITH YOU!

10-21-03

Air is clear, patrons scarce after smoking ban

Oct 8 2003  - Glowach says some non-smokers have started coming to the bar, but not enough to compensate
article here

His Dreams Go Up In Smoke

10-12-03 -A business in the family for more than a century, Roesch's closed its doors on Aug. 31, and the building was put up for sale. Lauterborn, 59, said business at the 178-seat restaurant and bar declined precipitously after the smoking ban was instituted in March.

article here

SMOKING BAN ACCOMPLISHES LITTLE, OTHER THAN BURDENING BUSINESSES
9-30-03 The non-smokers who were supposedly going to flood restaurants and bars once they weren't exposed to the horrors of second-hand smoke aren't going to such establishments any more than they did before July 24, when the nation's strictest indoor smoking ban took effect.

article here

CALIFORNIA: 5-year-old ban in bars leaves owners, customers fuming

5 January 2003

"I think if the government helps me one more time I'll be out of business," Newlove said as most of his customers nodded in agreement.

article here

SMOKING BAN IGNITES LAWSUIT

1 January 2003 - New York

A group of Poughkeepsie-area restaurant and tavern owners has filed a lawsuit in federal court, saying a new smoking ban is unconstitutional.

article here

NYC's Bar Business: Up In Smoke?

23 December 2002

As a manager of a Manhattan bar, I can easily point out the dramatic drop in business which will occur when the ban commences. Not only is my bar going to lose business, but how about the extra security that I'm going to be forced to hire to control people outside of my establishment when they go outside to smoke? Or what about the noise complaints I'll receive due to drunken smokers chatting outside at 3 a.m.?
click here

Another one bites the dust.........

Smoking Bans Burn Business (In Delaware)

15 December 2002

Dan McAvaney, owner of McAvaney's Pub on Kirkwood Highway, said small bar owners have no choice but to fight.

"Another couple of months of this," he said pointing to a nearly empty bar on a Thursday night, "and we go out of business."

article here

Fading smoke-free vets clubs eye injunction

18 Sept 2002 - Weymouth News - Mass

Old veterans clubs don't die - they just fade away because their members join clubs in other towns where they can smoke a cigarette in peace. They will take the towns to court if need be.  Clubs are reporting anywhere from a 30 to 40 percent loss of income, according to Clancy.

article here

Owners to ask for exemption: Restaurants say smoke-free proposal could drive them out of business

A handful of restaurant owners, however, say they have spent as much as $50,000 to $80,000 in renovations to comply with the current ordinance and have yet to recoup their investments.

"The role of government is not to create wealth.
The role of government is to create an environment
in which the entrepreneur or small business or
dreamer can flourish.  And that starts with rule of law,
respect of private property, less regulatory burdens on the
entrepreneur, open banking laws so that all people
have access to capital, and good tax policy."

President George W. Bush
St. Petersburg University,
St. Petersburg, Russia
May 25, 2002

Research fails to justify smoking ban in restaurants

California Smokers Use Prohibition Tactics to Get Around Ban

While cops try to sniff out the worst offenders, in many cases they're butting up against organized opposition. Bartender phone trees warn each other of impending busts, powerful fans blow away tell-tale scents of "smokin' in the boys room" and tin cans double as ashtrays in case of an unexpected visit by police.

click here

Smokers� rights cloud ASHRAE IAQ debate

Dozens of bar owners and representatives from casinos, restaurant industry trade groups and tobacco companies spoke during the two-hour open forum. Many of the speakers came to the forum from Canada, where several cities have passed or are considering totally banning smoking in restaurants, bars and bingo parlors. Most of the restaurant owners said they have lost or will lose up to 25% of their business if a smoking ban in enacted in their communities.

Smoking hearing snuffed

Braintree, Mass - April 19, 2002

I went from making a very good weekly paycheck to making minimum wage,'' Miller said. I'm now making less than a McDonald's employee.''

5 April 2002

Another bar-restaurant bit the dust in Ottawa, the Beacon Arms, laying full blame on the anti smoking by-law.

TWO MORE PUBS CLOSE - BOTH BLAME SMOKING BY-LAW

With over a year's experience under our belts, we now possess incontrovertible evidence that 100% bans are disastrous for the pub and bar industry, as well as bringing similar misery to bingos and pool halls.

article here

Smoking ban ignites Maine rebellion

BIDDEFORD, Maine

SMOKING BAN IMPACT ON CALIFORNIA RESTAURANTS

That is the real impact of the smoking ban. So if you hear of anyone saying that the smoking ban in restaurants and bars does not hurt anybody, you can quote my figures, which are based on the official reports issued by the State Board of Equalization here in California.

Otto J. Mueksch
President, Californians For Smokers Rights 

• NUTSHELL TAVERN, Rte 1, Biddeford, Maine closes its doors due to smoking bans.
•  
• Press Herald News, January 6, 2000 * MINGLES COFFEE SHOP, Kitchener, closes after non-smoking bylaw passed--45% drop in business Kitchener-Waterloo Record, July 31, 2000
•  
• * TWELVE RESTAURANTS CLOSE in Brookline, MA , after smoking ban decimates business Lowell Sun, March 28, 2001
•  
• * In British Columbia, 200 WORKERS in 46 establishments have lost their jobs because of the smoking ban National Post, March 3, 2000
•  
• * Hotelier Don Ritaller, Victoria, fired his entire staff of 12
•  
• * J. P. MALONE'S PUB in Richmond, laid off eight of its 20 employees
•  
• * CLYDE'S RESTAURANT GROUP, one of the most popular and successful restaurants chains in the Washington DC area since 1963, suffered a staggering loss of sales after smoking was banned
•  
• * A survey of 300 alcoholic beverage serving operations in California, selected at random from a list of 7,216 shows that 60% experienced a decrease in business averaging more than 30%; 7% showed increased business averaging 8%. Guest Choice Network + 50.4% of the respondents indicated an increase in customer complaints/fights; + 65.0% indicated a loss of regular customers; + 59.0% indicated a loss of tips/gratuities for the bar and/or serving staff.
•  
• * THE DULUTH GRILL has closed after 16 years due to the smoking ban Duluth News
•  
•  * 130 TOBACCONISTS in California have been forced to close since the 1998 smoking bans and punitive tax increases SF Gate, July 1, 2001
•  
• * Thousands of employees have had their hours cut, and hundreds have lost their jobs because of the loss of the smoking customers who form a majority of their customer base.
•  
• " Dread, pink slips greet smoking ban ," Globe and Mail, December 29, 2000
•  
• * A recent study from British Columbia pointed out major economic and job losses after a provincial smoking ban took effect in January: After 80 days of the bylaw, 730 EMPLOYEES were let go , 9 BUSINESSES CLOSED and more than $16 MILLION was lost . The Ottawa Citizen Online, August 27, 2001
•  
• * Letter from a waitress in BC: " My livelihood is being jeopardized for my own protection, and I never asked to be saved ."
•  
• * A hotel-industry study released this week shows that San Francisco's hotel-occupancy rates have shrunk to 1994 levels. City hotels are operating at 74% capacity. Rooms priced at more than $160 are about 69% full. While those numbers aren't disastrous, they are a far cry from the stuffed hostelries we've been used to the last few years. San Francisco Examiner, April 19, 2001
•  
• * TWO MORE RESTAURANTS have closed in Weymouth, MA : J.C. Grear's in South Weymouth and the Aloha in Hingham. A fourth restaurant said business is way off. Weymouth News
•  
• * Corvallis, OR: Employment at the Peacock has dropped from 50 to 14. Owner John Carter says the business has lost 38 percent of its lottery income and more than half of its basic bar revenue since the law took effect State records support Carter's lament about lost business. The Register-Guard, September 24, 2000
•  
• * Clergymen complain that 40 BINGO HALLS have closed because of the smoking ban. These halls supported local charities. Sun-News, February 7, 2001
•  
• * BUD'S PLACE in Cambridge and said his sales have fallen 23 per cent since the smoking ban was implemented. His staff has shrunk to 12 from 17 and a full-time employee he's had on staff for 10 years has been cut back to three shifts a week " Restaurateurs rebel against smoking bans " The New-Standard, December 10, 2000
•  
• * Wareham rescinds smoking ban when restaurant owners prove business decreased 25-40%. "We knew it would hurt," Board of Health Chairman Ralph R. Thompson said of the board's decision to implement the ban, adding that he and his fellow board members weren't aware of just how devastating the ban's impact would prove to be on area businesses. Representatives from Wareham's Elks club said the ban had cut the attendance at their weekly bingo nights in half, crippling their ability to raise funds for scholarships and other civic endeavors . Standard-Times, 12/20/2000
•  
• Last Spring (just in time for tourist season), the same three anti-smoker members of Wareham's Board of Health put the smoking ban back in place.  Wareham is now smoker UNfriendly and
  restaurants, bars, and clubs and organizations are suffering. :-(
•  
• * In Washington State a smoking ban at the Spokane Interstate Fair went down in flames Monday after attendance dropped by roughly 22% (despite perfect weather) and county commissioners were deluged with calls and letters of protest. "Fair policy up in smoke," Dan Hansen, Spokesman-Review, 9/14/99
•  
• * Susan Barnes of the WATERWORKS RESTAURANT in Rockland ( Maine ) said she has lost more than $8,000 a month in liquor sales to other establishments since the restaurant smoking ban went into effect. Bangor Daily News, February 5, 2000
•  
• * Peter Martin, owner of John Martin's MANOR RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE in Waterville, said he proclaimed all Sundays in January to be no-smoking. Food and beverage sales dropped 25 percent and off-track betting revenue dropped 30 percent , he said Bangor Daily News , February 5, 2000
•  
• * ''On Saturday night, we had a band, two bartenders, two waitresses, a doorman, a floor man, and we grossed $33,'' said Dorsey Carey, manager of HANDLEBAR HARRY'S bar/restaurant in Cordage Park, after smoking was banned.. Boston Globe Online, September 9, 2001
•  
• * Owner of the CHATEAU LAFAYETTE, Jill Scott, said: "People can't say this isn't hurting us. I've closed down my kitchen and cut five shifts . I don't know where people are going, but they aren't here." Ottawa Sun, Tuesday, October 2, 2001
•  
• * After smoking bans were implemented, the number of Buffalo BINGO ESTABLISHMENTS dropped by about 20 percent, while city bingo fee revenues declined by 36 percent, according to officials. The Buffalo News, By BRIAN MEYER, News Staff Reporter, 7/24/01
•  
• * Mesa, AZ, banned most restaurant smoking in 1996. THE MARQUEE, the ZUR-KATE and ARIZONA JACK'S are the exceptions. They demonstrated that they lost so much business as a result of the ban that they were allowed to permit smoking. The Washington Post, Monday, February 19, 2001; Page A03
•  
• * The most recent Gallup poll on smoking, November 13-15, shows that even in the current climate more than half of Americans, 53%, still want to allow smoking sections in restaurants; a solid majority still favors the preservation of smoking areas in the workplace, 63%, as well as in hotels and motels, 72%. "...it really comes down to whether or not we have a right to tell private business owners what they can do in their own business." Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, The Cabin, September 6, 2001

LETTER: Smoking ban still the bane of Salem's hospitality industry