Nov 9, 2007 9:47 am US/Central
MN Man Claims Smoking Ban Put Him Out Of Business
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. (AP) ―
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A statewide smoking ban went in to effect in Minnesota on Oct. 1.
A Detroit Lakes area bar owner is blaming Minnesota's new smoking ban for putting him out of business.
Kent Tweten said he had owned T.F. Boonies south of Detroit Lakes for only a few months and was working to build a customer base when the statewide smoking ban took effect Oct. 1.
Tweten said his "happy hours" were growing when the ban hit, but after that his after-work business shrunk to nothing.
Tweten, a former Moorhead bar owner, said most established bars may be able to hang on -- but he predicts some will have no choice but to close because of the smoking ban.
On Monday, the state Health Department issued a statement saying that the smoking ban, known officially as the Freedom to Breathe law, was being implemented as anticipated.
It said the department had notified 31 businesses that they need to do more to comply with the law, but the department said it had not taken any formal enforcement action.
"We're grateful to Minnesotans for embracing the law and for helping to protect one another from the hazards of secondhand smoke," said Commissioner of Health Dr. Sanne Magnan, in a prepared statement.
Magnan said the smoking ban would protect Minnesotans from the health risks of secondhand smoke.
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Secondhand smoke is a leading cause of preventable death in the United
States. In 2005, it was estimated that, each year, exposure to
secondhand smoke in the United States kills more than 3,000 adult
nonsmokers from lung cancer and approximately 46,000 from coronary
heart disease.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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