The Smoking Ban: Lighting Up is Hard to Do…
April 6th, 2005
By Archived Story
On the last day smokers were allowed to light up indoors in Minneapolis, March 30, Wake reporters interviewed the livid, the victorious, and the indifferent.
After a series of complex ordinances, individuals in Minneapolis face a $300 fine for exhaling cigarette smoke in bars, restaurants and bowling alleys. The city will issue businesses a $200 citation for the first violation, and the fine will double for each subsequent violation, up to $2,000, according to the city’s Web site.
The cities of Bloomington and Golden Valley passed similar bans, as did Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Each county and city may have different methods of enforcement and varying penalties.
Stub & Herb’s
“It smells like pipe from half a block down,” exclaimed a patron of Stub & Herb’s on the eve of the citywide smoking ban.
An unusually large crowd for a Wednesday packed the establishment, many customers protesting the ban. A smoky haze from cigars, pipes and cigarettes made it difficult to see across the bar.
Libertarian groups handed out flyers with the slogan “Smoking is better than Fascism,” while bar owner Sue Jeffers set out a donation bucket for people who wished to contribute money toward a lawsuit that seeks to stop the smoking ban.
Shawn Carter, who lives in Roseville, decided to make the trip to the bar to enjoy a cigar when he heard KSTP 1500 radio personality Chris Krok talking about how the ban infringed on business owners’ rights. Carter, who only smokes cigars on rare occasions, said, “I kind of take offense to the fact that Minnesota is always referred to as the ‘Nanny State,’” and added that in a market economy, business owners should have a right to conduct business as they please.
A KSTP truck with a giant replica of a cigarette on the roof sat outside the restaurant to promote the event.
Carter said he had some sympathy for bar employees who didn’t like the smoke, but he also said that people have a choice in where they work. “My girlfriend worked at a bar and didn’t like the smoke, so she found another job,” said Carter.
When asked for opinions about the smoking ban, Stub & Herb’s employees said they were instructed by management not to talk to the media.
Chelsea Kenrick, a waitress at Leaning Tower of Pizza, said she went to the bar for the cheap beer, not to protest the smoking ban. She said she felt the ban was unnecessary and that people had the option of avoiding smoky establishments. “I work at a bar—I knew what I was getting into,” said Kenrick.
Although she didn’t approve of the ban, Kenrick admitted, “It’s a good time to start quitting, I guess.”
The Purple Onion
Clouds of smoke billowed up to the ceiling in the notoriously smoky Purple Onion coffee shop. University of Minnesota students packed the Dinkytown landmark to enjoy their last chance to smoke at a coffee shop in Minneapolis.
Many tables were stacked with multiple packs and ashtrays were uniformly full, but opinions were varied at the Purple Onion regarding the smoking ban.
Even some who were lighting up appreciated the smoking ban.
Michael Saffen, a cultural studies major at the “U,” says he likes the idea of a ban.
“It will encourage me to quit smoking,” Saffen said. Although supportive of the ban, Saffen did say he thought there should be some places where people could smoke within Hennepin County.
Mark Barta, an accounting major, said the ban would change his routine.
“I come here because I can smoke and I can’t in the dorms,” Barta said. Although the ban will further limit where Barta can smoke he didn’t think it would help him cut back.
Barta didn’t think the smoking ban would have much of an impact on whether people went to the bars or not. He did think that there should be designated outdoor areas where people could still smoke.
His cousin, Daniel Barta thought that the impact of the smoking ban wouldn’t be felt until this winter.
“Come wintertime there’s gonna be riots,” Daniel said.
Others felt more strongly about the ban.
“It’s a kind of behavior control,” psychology student Scott Domansky said.
Celebrating the last day with plenty of cigarettes, (he was at 19 and counting with a couple packs to go), Domansky said he didn’t really care about whether the smoking ban was good for people’s health.
“I don’t really care about the majority,” Domansky said.
Some of the people who may benefit from the smoking ban are employees, although businesses may be hurt by the ban.
Tom Kraus, a Purple Onion employee and university student said he thinks that their business will slow initially, but bounce back. Kraus said that the Purple Onion plans to renovate and hang more artwork now that they don’t have to worry about the damaging effects of cigarette smoke.
Kraus, whose throat hurt from the clouds of cigarette smoke on the 30th, thought it would be nice to work in a smoke-free environment.
“It will be really nice for people to serve without having to worry about the smoke,” Kraus said.
Blarney’s
Smoke curled off Mike Mulrooney’s cigarette for one of the last times inside Blarney’s Pub and Grill in Dinkytown on Wednesday night, hours before the Minneapolis smoking ban went into affect.
Mulrooney, the owner of Blarney’s, said his bar will survive the ban. “I think initially there’s going to be some drop off. I think it will rebound just fine,” he said.
“I think [the smoking ban] is an infraction of civil liberties,” said John Sjogren, a member of the band The Tim Malloys. Privately owned establishments should be able to decide for themselves what is best for their customers, not the state, he said.
Another member of the band, Armitiage Shanks, supports the ban. “I had an idea when there was still smoking that I would have a bottle of just water but I would label it botulism,” said Shanks. “I would just spray people in the bar, and they would say, ‘What are you doing,’ and I would say ‘I’m spraying you with botulism, it’s a habit of mine.’ And they’d say, ‘Well, can’t that kill you?’ and I’d say ‘Well, yea, but didn’t you know there’d be botulism sprayed in the bar tonight? Don’t come out if you don’t want botulism sprayed on you.’ It’s a clumsy analogy, but I like it.”
Chad Ekstrom, head of security at Blarney’s, said that he supports the ban because he believes it will help him quit.
“I can go a whole day not smoking, but once I come here and smell the air and see other people smoking you’re like, I really want a cigarette, I need to have one,” said Ekstrom.
Karen Thousand, a junior studying child psychology works at Sally’s Saloon and Eatery. She has smoked since high school and is taking part in Boynton Health Service’s “Quit and Win” contest.
“I smoke a lot just because I can, but I don’t really want to,” said Thousand.
Contest winners must remain smoke-free for the month of April. The grand prize is a trip for two to Mexico.
“I think the ban may possibly help people to quit,” said Tim Lonergan, a junior studying theater. But Lonergan does not think that it will help him quit.
“I might lessen my smoking, only have a few cigarettes while I’m out at the bar … but it won’t stop me personally from smoking,” said Lonergan.
Blarney’s is adding an outdoor patio where patrons can smoke and still plans to be busy as usual, Mulrooney said.
The bottom line, according to Mulrooney: bars offer an atmosphere and a selection that is not available elsewhere, “If [people] want to experience a bar, they’re going to come whether there’s smoking or not,” said Mulrooney.
