Columbia: One year smoke-free

By Andrew Denney

Published Jan. 29, 2008

Columbia’s ban on smoking in bars and restaurants has been in place for more than a year, but criticism for the ban still smolders for restaurant and bar owners and local leaders.

The Boone Liberty Coalition, a group that opposes the ban, denounced in a news release an event held Jan. 8 at The Blue Note celebrating the one-year anniversary of the ban.

According to the release, BLC chairman Greg Rennier said that the ban has failed to produce any noticeable health benefits for the community.

“Given the devastation the smoking ban has caused for selected members of our community, we feel it is inappropriate to celebrate,” Rennier said.

In December, the organization sent requests to Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman and members of the City Council, requesting that the ban be repealed and replaced with a new ordinance that would have required businesses to post signs clarifying whether or not the establishment allows smoking.

Hindman said he is opposed to the suggested plan, which was modeled from a similar plan proposed in St. Louis.

The BLC acquired new ammunition in its fight against the smoking ban on Dec. 11, when the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis researcher Michael Pakko released a report stating that Columbia’s smoking ban had contributed to a 5 percent decrease in tax revenue in the first seven months since the enactment of the ban.

Pakko said the results are preliminary and that any economic benefits realized from potentially improving health conditions of employees and patrons of Columbia’s restaurants and bars, including lower insurance premiums or reduced sick leave, were outside of the focus of his research.

“I’m not a public health expert,” Pakko said. “I’m urging policy makers to consider the economic perspective.”

Hindman said he thinks that the overall economic situation for all Columbia businesses will not be affected, and despite the fact that the ban still sparks criticism, the evidence of the health benefits generated by the ban is overwhelming.

“It was the right thing to do,” Hindman said.

BLC spokesman John Schultz said meaningful opposition to the legislation must come from the business community, and while the organization will continue to listen to concerns about the ban, the issue is now “behind” the organization.

“You can’t fight city hall,” Schultz said.

Tiger Club owner Betty Hamilton, who last year co-authored a petition to repeal the ban that generated over 3,000 signatures from area residents, said her business has lost money, but she is no longer attempting to fight the ban.

“I think I should have the opportunity, as a business owner, to put a sign on my door that says we allow smoking,” Hamilton said.

According to the language of the ban, the Boone County Health Department will issue tickets of no more than $200 for patrons and proprietors that violate the ban.

On Jan. 17, five patrons and one employee at The Blue Fugue — a downtown bar where both customers and employees alike were seen smoking inside the bar — were cited in violation of the ban.

The Blue Fugue manager Scott Meiner said employees and patrons are informed of the law, but that employees of the bar are not “deputized” by the authorities to enforce the law.

“We abide by the rules like everyone else,” Meiner said. “We’re not going to perform vigilante justice.”

According to the language of the ban, proprietors are responsible for posting “No Smoking” signs in conspicuous positions throughout the establishment and informing any persons on the premises in violation of the law to stop smoking.

In the wake of the ban, several Columbia bars and restaurants, mostly in the downtown area, have closed their doors, some citing the ban as a major catalyst in their revenue loss.

For some, the closures have raised concerns of unemployment for former workers of the closed businesses.

Missouri Restaurant Association Executive Vice President Pat Bergauer, whose organization testified against the ban in public hearings before it was enacted into law, said the burden of business closures falls mostly on its former employees who are forced to find a new job.

“It seems awfully unfair that that happens to them,” Bergauer said.

First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton, who presides over the area that encompasses downtown Columbia, and voted in opposition to the ban, said in addition to unemployment and shrinking revenues in the hospitality industry, the smoking ban affected certain businesses that contributed to charitable organizations, such as bingo halls.

“A lot of people did get hurt, whether you’re a smoker or not,” Crayton said.

Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala, who did not serve on the council when the ban was voted on, said he supports the ban, but also said he would have liked to have seen the issue brought before voters.

“This is a public health issue, primarily for employees,” Skala said.

Skala said he was also concerned that bars and restaurants that have patios where patrons are allowed to light up freely might have an unfair advantage over businesses that do not.

Skala said that one year after the City Council passed the ban 4-3, there is a broader acceptance of the legislation.