Bill to ban workplace smoking resurrected
Neil BlakeState legislators have resurrected a House bill proposing a workplace-smoking ban for Michigan.
The ban, proposed again last week, would make smoking in most workplaces, including bars and restaurants, illegal. However, it would not apply to smoking indoors at a casino.
Some local bar owners have taken action over what they see as something that could decrease their clientele.
Leon Drake, manager of The Cabin, 930 W. Broomfield Road, has sent letters to senators, but does not expect them to be effective.
"This will discourage customers who smoke and drink at the same time," Drake said.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm says she will sign a smoking ban into law if one reaches her desk. But the current bill is similar to the one that failed last year because of disagreements over whether to exempt casinos, cigar bars and tobacco specialty shops.
Rep. Bert Johnson, D-Detroit, House Regulatory Reform Committee chairman, said he wants to submit a bill by April 1.
Lois Breidenstein, owner of The Bird Bar & Grill, 223 S. Main St., is not excited about effects of the smoking ban, but thinks businesses would eventually recuperate.
"It would be rough for a while but we would get used to it," Breidenstein said, stating that the first two or three months would probably be the hardest.
"One of the most common times that people want to smoke is right after a meal," said psychology professor and expert on smoking, Bryan Gibson.
An indoor smoking ban may discourage customers due to smoking habits, he said.
Thirty-six states currently have some type of smoking ban in effect. Other states have found no change in long-term patronage, according to Gibson.
One restaurant in Mount Pleasant, The Brass Cafe & Saloon, 115 S. Main St., has been smokeless since Jan. 1, 2008. Manager Susan Paton said customers enjoy the non-smoking atmosphere.
"I've had a number of people come up and thank me for it," she said.
Paton listed many benefits to going smokeless, including the ease of having the entire restaurant to seat all patrons, rather than a wait to sit in the non-smoking section, and a consistency of character throughout the restaurant. Paton is supporting the proposed bill.
Gibson feels that the lack of smoking ban is "unfair to people that work those jobs."
There is a fine line between employee and patron rights that this bill will be forced to walk, Breidenstein said and views the bill as "not letting us live like we would like."
metro@cm-life.com
