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Smoking ban causes confusion among businesses, some wonder how to comply with May 1 law

By Maryellen Tighe on April 7, 2010 6:00 am in Metro / 20 comments

 

Questions have circulated among business officials since Michigan lawmakers approved the state smoking ban in December.

The statute goes into effect May 1 and bans smoking at all places of work besides cigar bars. The gaming floors of Detroit’s casinos are also exempt.

But many legislators do not have the answers, and business owners are unsure of how to comply with the new law, said Andy Deloney, vice president of Public Affairs for the Michigan Restaurant Association.

“We’ve literally had several dozen questions, some of which we still don’t have good answers for,” Deloney said. “There are so many grey areas and so many unanswered questions that there is confusion.”

Restaurant owners are required to post the international “No smoking” sign at all restaurant entrances, he said, and remove all ashtrays and smoking paraphernalia.

If customers still attempt to smoke, the restaurant owner should ask them to stop and then stop serving them, said Lisa Hadden, president of the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce. If the customer refuses to comply, staff members should ask them to leave. If they refuse to leave, the restaurant should follow typical protocol for ejecting patrons.

Deloney said the process could create a problem for many businesses.

“Most people in this industry don’t have bouncers and aren’t going to hire them,” he said.

The restaurants are the first level of enforcement, Hadden said. The second is the Central Michigan District Health Department.

“The health department is encouraging businesses to talk to their employees long before May 1,” she said.

The primary method of enforcement for the ban will be complaints, said Robert Graham, medical director of the Central Michigan District Health Department. There will be license problems for repeat offenders.

Restaurants on American Indian reservations are exempt from the law, Graham said. But 70 percent of Michigan’s population supports the ban, he said.

“I think we’ll see more and more people going out to eat because they don’t have to eat smoke along with their food,” he said. “The number of complaints in other states has been quite small. The reaction has been quite favorable.”

Taking advantage

Some businesses are taking advantage of the changes in laws to decrease their competition, Deloney said.

Cigar bars had to be open by March 31 in order to operate after the ban goes into effect. They must earn over 10 percent of their sales in cigars and sell cigars that cost more than one dollar, he said. They also must be physically separated from other buildings and have an on-site humidifier.

SIX Hookah Lounge, 1901 S. Mission St., qualifies as a cigar bar and patrons will still be allowed to smoke on site, said manager Dan MacKinnon.

“Our business is the only (kind) that’s exempt from the law, so it’s the only place you’re allowed to smoke publicly,” MacKinnon said. “We’ll definitely be bringing in a lot of different products.”

Outdoors is a patchy part of the law, Deloney said. People are allowed to smoke anywhere employees are not required to work and do not consume food.

Some businesses have set aside portions of property for just smoking, and patrons will not be able to consume food products in those areas, he said. There are no stipulations about how far away to stand from a building while smoking.

“There is no such minimum distance here in the Michigan law,” Deloney said. “If it’s your property, you’re not required to permit (smoking) even if the law permits it.”

 

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  • TimeForTheNannyEraToStop

    The only thing not confusing about smoking bans is that it will close many businesses.
    Michigan will not escape this either. no matter what rosecolored glasses the antismoking lobbying organizations want you to wear.

  • TimeForTheNannyEraToStop

    The only thing not confusing about smoking bans is that it will close many businesses.
    Michigan will not escape this either. no matter what rosecolored glasses the antismoking lobbying organizations want you to wear.

  • http://www.buyhookah.com/ Nima

    This is most like other states where the hookah bars and cigar shops are allowed to operate (if they make a certain percentage of their income from hookah / cigar).

  • http://www.buyhookah.com/ Nima

    This is most like other states where the hookah bars and cigar shops are allowed to operate (if they make a certain percentage of their income from hookah / cigar).

  • Just me!!!

    I dont even smoke and think this is so unfair for the little bars and restaurants that will not make it. If they are going to ban smoking that ban it everywhere no exceptions.

  • Pistol Pete

    How is the smoking ban going to close many businesses? What kind's of businesses, smoky bars? Ok, students are still going to go to the bar and drink, people are still going have to eat, and those that usually go to restaurants still will. If you can't wait to have a smoke for an hour while you're in a restaurant, you have bigger things to worry about than not being able to light up a cig while you eat. I'm from Illinois and this ban has been in place for a few years now. At first, many smokers were upset, but they got over it. MOST companies actually increased their business performance and total revenue increased. Search the Chicago tribune online for articles relating if you don't believe. In most cases, smoking has prevented many people from going into certain businesses, this will no longer be the case!

  • mike

    Many studies have been published in the health industry literature on the economic effect of smoke-free policies. The majority have found that there is no negative economic impact associated with bans and many findings that there may be a positive effect on local businesses.[81] A 2003 review of 97 such studies of the economic effects of a smoking ban on the hospitality industry found that the “best-designed” studies concluded that smoking bans did not harm businesses.

  • Ashley

    y should we ban smoking? i dont know why people want to ban it, people should have their own choice!

  • Future

    No it won't, people will still go out. The anti smokers are just dumb for the fact that you will now having smokers standing RIGHT outside the door….you're still going to have to walk through that scary scary smoke that you think is going to give you cancer the first time you smell it. You're also still going to smell like the bar when you go home too.

    Also. a lot of places who have owners angry about the GOVERNMENT telling them what they can and cannot do (Very unAmerican btw) with their business are looking for loopholes or just changing how things used to work. You used to like and eat on the decks of certain places….yeah you're probably going to lose that. Some places have already put in place a rule of no food out on decks and patios after a certain time. Remember, when it' a nice warm night, you'll be sitting inside while people who aren't trying to be a buzz kills will be outside mingling but here's the funny thing…you'll still go out there. Because even though they're so appalled by cigarettes, anti smokers will still go where smokers are, just like they did when you could smoke in bars. It's like a stupid kid that keeps getting hit by a car, instead of just getting out of the street you'd much rather just ban cars.
    Also, some bars are just going to charge for for ashtrays, or just not enforce it…..see, all they have to do is send someone over that says 'Will you please leave' anybody complains about it, well they were asked to leave. Some bars will just say “Didn't notice it”.
    Then you will see the pop up of social clubs where you have to be a member and pay dues to drink, eat, and smoke there.
    Some places, are going to slap a smallest humidor they can in their establishment and charge you at the door but they do it different….you have to pay at least 2 dollars at the door buying a cigar. It's the same as a cover charge and it falls under the whole 10 percent of business coming from cigar sales. Anti smokers still go to places that are known to be fun or an 'in' places. It will be funny to see these same people having to buy a tobacco just to get in….and don't give me that 'I won't go' crap….you went to places that had smoking before and you'll go again.

    It won't hurt the businesses, it's just going to actually hurt the non smokers

  • potty mouth

    The question shouldn’t be “why ban smoking indoors”…it should be “why do people still choose to smoke”! What would possess someone to pick up a cigarette, light it, so these chemicals can enter your body?? Because it’s cool?? lol, disgusting!

  • Frederick the Great

    Are you really about choice? Are you pro choice? Are you for gay marriage? Or is it only your choice to harm others with your smoke that is important? I see you more as a redneck that does not like laws encroching on their personal fredoom yet would gladly take away others.
    The state goverment is allowed to pass laws relating to the health, safety, morals, and welfare. Here this clearly relates, so the state can pass it. The people do not need to vote on it. Citizens are garenteed a republican form of goverment. The citizens elect the politicians to pass laws on their behalf. Here smokers loose!
    Sugestions to smokers… Move to a Southern state.

  • Glenn

    Come On you guys..I would have thought by now you would have learned, given the global warming scandal…
    First, hookah bars are not going to work..Smokers and the general will take one look at all the radical smoking accessories and associate that with illegal drugs..traditional smokers will recoil from these places like its a plague…
    When I read about how great of a reaction there will be to the non smoking ban ,, I think that such a judgment might be clouded by the fact there is a casino near that person.
    I personally have given up my seat at the town table,, you are welcome to fill in for me. That seat has been welcoming me for almost 20 years..You will not charge me for something and put me out in the yard like a dog..no thanks I’ll stay home…
    I wish you all the luck keeping your schools open your jails running and all the things going that smokers taxes pay for..No I’m not bitter I’m saving a lot of money..no daily restaurant stop..(witch was 12 miles one way) I have canceled all plans for weekend getaways in the state,seeing that i would have to pay for a room, then walk the streets for a smoke..

  • sherrid67

    Affect our licenses?? What are they gonna mess with next dare I ask.

  • sherrid67

    Affect our licenses?? What are they gonna mess with next dare I ask.

  • sherrid67

    Affect our licenses?? What are they gonna mess with next dare I ask.

  • 1mfedup

    What about the efforts of private clubs to remain exempt?
    Such as VFW, Eagles, Moose, those that require a membership to get in. Technically they are not open to the public.

  • levelhead

    What I do not understand is why all the comparisons…There used to be a time when this state was filled with real people not mindless followers..why should i care about what Illinois has done TO there people..
    We are not ( I hope ) a gangster state…We are not an alternative lifestyle state…We are Michigan The Great lake state,,hard working fun loving social people..segregation is not a social quality..Limiting the freedoms of select groups of individuals either in public or in private spaces is just plain wrong..
    How cruel is it to force a person in a retirement home to stop smoking..its the law
    I guess veterans fought for our right to take their freedoms away

  • Dancing Rats

    To allow/not allow smoking in a bar or restaurant should be decided by the owner not the government. People who want to smoke will go to smoking establishments. Those who are worried about other people affecting their health willl go to non smoking establishments. I have noticed that some bars and restaurants already have many more smokers than others. This tells me that people are already choosing for themselves. We need to be careful about passively allowing our government to control our personal lives.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500114524 Matthew Erik Trzeciak

    The state has the right to do this yes. Because it is something that affects the health of citizens, yes. The problem is that it IS encroaching on the rights of the owners. They are no longer allowed to permit a legal activity in their establishments. I AM for Gay marriage, I AM Pro-Choice. These are not things I would choose to restrict for the same reason I would choose not to restrict a business owner's right to decide upon the activities that go on in his/her business. I realize that the non-smokers are all for this, but let's face it, without the ban, Lil' Chef already went smoke free, as did all of LaBelle's Independant division restaurants. (Big Boy, Italian Oven, Pixie and Big Apple) These businesses did it on their own. They CHOSE to go smoke free. Something that other business owners will not have the right to do. They are being strong armed into running their business the way that a select few see fit. *This was a bill of election in the Legislature, not a Public Initiative, so don't give me “70% of Michigan Residents support it.” That is just a non-scientific poll with an agenda, not a ballot poll that was elected into effect by the people of the state.* Remember folks, when a State is doing something like this it is b/c they are trying to follow a trend and include more rules by which they can force you to be less individual, and more conformist to the view of society that the people at the top want you to live. Whether you like it or not.

  • Mike

    In regards to cigar bars: “They also must be physically separated from other buildings and have an on-site humidifier.”

    It's called a “humidor.” Also, the hookah lounge can operate as a tobacco shop, but not as a cigar bar. Or if it meets the requirements for a cigar bar, it has to give up the hookah.