Smoking still a heated debate

By Kyle Daly

Published March 11, 2008

A recent exploitation of a loophole in a Minnesota smoking ban has raised questions about whether Columbia bar owners would try taking advantage of exemptions in their own city’s smoking ordinance.

According to a Minnesota Department of Health news release, a number of bar owners in the state have recently allowed smoking in their bars by declaring that their activity falls within the law’s exemption to actors and actresses involved in a theatrical performance.

The bar owners have been holding “theater nights” in which patrons and employees dress up in costumes and declare themselves to be part of a show.

MDH spokesman John Stieger said MDH officials have consulted with attorneys and the attorney general’s office and have concluded that these “theater nights” do not fall within the exemption included in the state’s Freedom to Breath Act, which was passed as a way to protect Minnesotans from the health risks of second-hand smoke.

“We believe they are an attempt to allow smoking in violation of the law,” Stieger said.

Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman said, despite an incorrect statement on the city Web site, no such exemption exists in Columbia’s own smoking ordinance. Columbia’s smoking ordinance came into effect in 2006. Hindman said some bar and restaurant owners have taken advantage of another exemption.

This exemption states that smokers may use 50 percent of a patio area of any commercial establishment in the city as long as nonsmoking customers do not have to pass through the area to obtain access to the nonsmoking section.

“You can see patios springing up all over the place,” Hindman said.

Hindman said he assumed a thing like this would happen when the ordinance was passed, yet he doubts the current City Council will do anything to change the law.

Some Columbia restaurants with existing patio areas said they see no need to expand their patio smoking sections.

Kayotea Tea Room and Bistro manager Sasha Goodnow said two chairs positioned in front of the restaurant were there before the smoking ordinance was passed. Goodnow said the chairs are for any customer who wants to go outside and have a smoke.

Campus Bar and Grill waitress Kate Corcoran said the restaurant’s patio area has actually reduced in size due to broken chairs and tables.

Corcoran also said expansion would not be possible due to the restaurant’s patio capacity limit, which complies with the city’s fire code.

Boone Liberty Coalition member Glenn Nielsen said he would be willing to participate in a “theater night” if such an exemption did exist in Columbia’s smoking ordinance. Nielsen said he would particularly like to see a performance portraying a reenactment of the signing of the Declaration of Independence or a reading of the Bill of Rights.

“This comes down to an issue of the property rights of the business owners and the authority of government to restrict freedom of association and the right to determine what conduct is acceptable on your own property,” Nielsen said.