Feature: Smoking ban leaves unanswered questions
Published Oct. 13, 2006
After four and a half hours of debate and a razor-thin vote, the Columbia City Council decreed that most public places in Columbia will go smoke-free in about three months. Although the ink on the ordinance is dry, many questions remain, including the ban's enforcement, the politics behind the vote and the impact on local businesses.
The Enforcement
Enforcement of the new ordinance will be in the hands of the Columbia/Boone County Health Department and the Columbia Police Department.
"We hope there's a great deal of voluntary compliance with an ordinance of this type," Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm said. "Most of the time there is."
Any occurrences of non-compliance should be reported to the health department by contacting the department.
"Our role will essentially be sending out an environmental health specialist when a complaint is called in and working with the business owner to handle the complaint," department spokeswoman Heather Baer said.
An environmental health specialist should respond "within one to two days depending if they have other inspections scheduled," Baer said.
If there are further complaints after the specialist's intervention, the complaint will be forwarded to the Columbia police. Once the police are involved, they will issue court summons to the individual who is violating the smoking ban.
According to the ordinance, "Any person violating, neglecting or refusing to comply with any provision of this article shall be guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $200."
The ordinance does not allow for any penalty against a business that does not enforce the smoking ban within its establishment.
"The enforcement is strictly related to the individual," Boehm said.
Also, the ordinance does not allow increased penalties for repeat offenses. The fine will remain at a maximum of $200 for each offense.
The new ordinance will take effect on Jan. 9.
The Decision
City Council members passed the updated smoking ban early Tuesday morning with a 4-3 vote. The issue remains heated as council members explain the reasoning behind their votes.
Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe said the rights of people to be healthy are more important than being able to run a business the way an owner wants.
"It was a basic health issue. We're not regulating what kind of music they have," Hoppe said.
First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton opposed the ban, saying the government's infringement on private citizens' rights was unacceptable.
"If a bar has a license and they are paying taxes and his clientele wants to smoke, you tell me one person can walk in there and say, 'I don't like the smoke,' and the majority of people are smokers?" she said.
Second Ward Councilman Chris Janku, who stated earlier in the year that he had concerns about the ban's provisions, voted in support of it in the end.
"Originally they had talked about banning smoking in private clubs," he said. "The Board of Health later made an exception."
Janku's final decision surprised the Boone County Libertarians, who endorsed his election to the City Council based on his position against the ban in its early stages, spokesman John Schultz said.
"I think there was very strong testimony about the health problems caused by secondhand smoke," Janku said.
Concerns about public health, especially employees' health, caught Hoppe's attention as well.
"Toxic fumes and carcinogens are being released into the air, and it's really keeping a whole lot of citizens from going into public places," she said.
Mayor Darwin Hindman, who voted in support of the ordinance, said the city had to step in because it's not just the smoker doing harm to themselves but to others as well.
"The tobacco smoking is one of the very few things where when people engage in it they not only are harming themselves, but they're doing harm to anyone who is subjected to their secondhand smoke," Hindman said.
A recent survey of about 700 Columbia residents indicated that most supported a ban on smoking in public and would probably patronize restaurants and bars more often. It did not impact most council members' votes.
"I had decided that I would support it before that," Hoppe said. "That sort of reconfirmed my decision as the right one."
Fifth Ward Councilwoman Laura Nauser, who voted against the smoking ban, said the survey might have been more useful if it had come out a few years earlier.
"It would have been nice if that survey had come out a couple years ago and brought the attention to business owners and let them adjust their marketing or businesses on their own," she said.
Fourth Ward Councilman Jim Loveless said his vote against the ban was a decision of conscience.
"I received so many communications regarding this issue," he said. "My own opinion is that I was elected to use my judgment regarding how I would vote on things. I was not elected to reflect any particular person's opinion."
Still, the ban's economic impact on businesses concerned Crayton.
"I think some of them really going to get hurt," Crayton said, noting that smaller businesses will probably feel the greatest impact.
Janku doubted the effect the ban would have on businesses based on the number of non-smokers who also live in the city.
"The significant majority of people are not smokers, and I know from personal experience that a number of nonsmokers currently avoid bars because of the smoke," Janku said. He expects that the number of people who begin going to bars "will offset any drop-off in the customers who are smokers."
Third Ward Councilman Bob Hutton was on vacation and unavailable for comment.
The Businesses
When the ban goes into effect on Jan. 9, some local businesses might have to change the way they do things.
The ordinance restricts smoking in bars, restaurants, nursing homes and long-term care facilities, adding to a previous ordinance that restricted smoking in many commercial establishments.
There are exemptions for tobacco shops that do the majority of their business in tobacco products and not-for-profit private organizations that are dedicated to benefiting their members and do not pay its members for services. This exemption, though, does not apply to events held by these organizations that are open to the public, such as bingo games.
There is no provision for punishing businesses in the bill, only those who smoke in a business.
The bill states that, "Any person violating, neglecting or refusing to comply with any provision of this article shall be guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $200."
Many businesses, such as the local IHOP, are gearing up for compliance.
"As of Jan. 9, we will be all nonsmoking," manager Melissa Miller said.
Maureen Hoeman, manager at Heidelberg Restaurant, said her restaurant would comply as well.
"We are going abide by it 100 percent," she said.
Richard King, the owner of The Blue Note, said his business will also comply with the ban, forcing concertgoers outside to smoke.
"We will become a no smoking venue before Jan. 9," he said.
Rick Robertson, co-owner of Booches Billiard Hall, said it should be his decision to make his business non-smoking.
"It shouldn't have been the City Council's decision. It should have been Booches' decision," he said. "It's a shameful government intrusion on the free market system."
If an establishment has a patio, half of the patio area is exempt from the ban as long as a patron doesn't have to walk through the smoking part to get through to the non-smoking part. That is how the management of Boone Tavern and Restaurant plans to set up their patio.
"Our establishment will be entirely non-smoking except for our upper courtyard outside," manager Nina Sturtevant said.
Some businesses had even planned for the council's decision before it happened.
"We researched other businesses that went non-smoking from smoking, and less than 1 percent lost business because of that," said Rob Stine, manager of Flat Branch Pub & Brewing, which has been nonsmoking for nearly a year.
Many businesses are taking the ban in stride, but not everyone agrees with it.
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