Dec 10, 2006 2:13 pm US/Central
New Legislature May OK Bar-Restaurant Smoking Ban
St. Paul (AP) ―
A statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants looks more likely than ever.
For several years the biggest obstacle to the ban has been the Republican majority in the state House of Representatives, which was swayed by the concerns of restaurant and bar owners who said the ban would hurt their business. With Democrats set to take control of the House in January, supporters believe their time has come.
"This is definitely the year for the dialogue to happen," said Pat McKone, president-elect of the Minnesota Smoke-Free Coalition, which includes an array of public health organizations. "We see a lot of acceptance, even from people who once opposed the idea."
Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty has said he'd sign the ban into law. Some predict the new Legislature could pass it within weeks of the start of the session in January.
Even bar owners and other opponents are pessimistic about the chance of blocking a ban. Instead they're focusing on limiting its scope.
The Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association is preparing a push to exempt neighborhood and rural bars that serve almost no food, saying a ban would mean economic hardship for the owners of such establishments.
Many Minnesota cities, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, ban smoking in bars and restaurants. Last month, 69 percent of voters in Mankato favored such a ban. They are also increasingly common nationwide, with 17 states now prohibiting smoking indoors in all or most public places.
Supporters point to a report earlier this year by the U.S. Surgeon General that said even brief exposure to secondhand smoke is a significant health hazard.
Some bar owners have made their establishments nonsmoking voluntarily, but say it meant at least a temporary hit to business. Dawn Eve, owner of Jammers Bluenote Ballroom in Bemidji, said she made the call after she suffered recurring lung infections and a general loss of energy during the day.
"It was really hard, and I did lose some money," Eve said. "People I thought were my friends don't ever come back in anymore. Smoking and drinking alcohol do go hand-in-hand with a lot of people. I stayed open, but I didn't hardly have any customers for a while."
But her lung infections stopped, and Eve found she needed fewer daytime naps. Customers are returning, she said, and even some smokers are saying they appreciate the new policy.
In January, Beltrami County will go smoke free. But Eve said she still will face competition from bars that allow smoking across the county line.
"A statewide ban would be a real treat," she said.
Still, opponents of a ban in the Legislature say it should be every business owner's decision -- not the state's.
"If this is what government is for, let's go to the next step -- why not cheeseburgers?" said Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano. "Big Brother has got to take care of us because we are too dumb or too lazy to care for ourselves."
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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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