As the Smoke Clears
By Lauren Holt
Smokers braving the cold at Bottom's Up.
February 2005 - So it’s been six months — the state-wide
smoking ban has become a way of life. Back in July, many bar and club
owners predicted that the ban would hurt business and keep people at home,
especially in the colder months. So, how has the ban impacted the nightlife
industry?
Henry Castillo, bartender at On the Rocks, says he supports the ban and
that most of his clientele do as well.
““I hear a lot of people say that they like not coming home
smelling like smoke, having it in their hair, their nice clothes and everything,”
Castillo says. “I’ve been going to smoke-free bars and clubs
in other cities for years and I like it. I think, in time, it will be
something everyone gets used to.”
Castillo also says that the ban hasn’t made much of an impact on
his business. He reasons that people are going to go out because they
like to, and says that the ban has not changed the amount of partygoers
packing into his Park Avenue nightspot. Verinder Bawa, owner of Milan
in Shrewsbury, also says that the ban has been less of a blow to business
than anticipated. He still draws a regular crowd, reporting that business
in the bar has been steady for the past three years, smoking ban or not.
“After six months, the impact I feel is minimal,” Bawa says.
“A lot of the smokers are not happy about it, but everybody knows
it’s the law and they go outside. But I think people should be
given a choice. Drinking and social smoking is a very common phenomenon.”
Bawa is pleased that the ban went into effect statewide, because that
means his customers don’t have to choose between a
smoking or nonsmoking establishment. “If Shrewsbury had gone nonsmoking
and Northborough hadn’t, it would have been different, it would
have been bad for business,” Bawa says.
Overall, most partygoers admit that thes moking ban has been a benefit
to the club scene. All enjoy the clean air, and many smokers don’t
mind going outside to indulge in a smoke.
Ryan Kapitz, 24, of Westborough, says that the ban has made the bar scene
a more pleasant place to be. Kapitz, who is a social smoker, also sees
the benefit of moving the smoking party outdoors. “It’s a
great place to meet people and fraternize,” he says. “And
isn’t that why people go out to the bar anyway?” However,
Worcester banned smoking only six months ago. How does our plight compare
with that of Boston, which banned smoking almost two years ago on May
5, 2003?
There the smoking ban is getting mixed reviews. A recent article in the
The Boston Globe said that, in December,
bar owners in the city and to the north were complaining that business
was still suffering after the state-wide ban.
The article, “As air clears, profits going up in smoke,” quotes
bartenders and owners who claim business was 20- percent below where it
was last year. Dave Berry, bar manager at Carlin’s Restaurant, Inc.
in Ayer, blamed the smoking ban mostly for his losses. “I think
people are less likely to go someplace where they can’t smoke,”
Berry said in the Globe. “It’s really that simple”
However, the Boston Public Health Commission released a study conducted
at the one-year anniversary of the Boston ban that showed that public
support for smokefree bars has increased significantly since the law’s
passage. “There is a growing acceptance and appreciation among young
adults for these tobacco control policies,” wrote the study’s
author, Lois Beiner, PhD. “While one might have expected a backlash
among young adults, the prime patrons of Boston bars and clubs, we find
instead an increase in support for the smoking ban — even among
the
smokers.”
So the moral of the story? More and more cities and states are slashing
smokers’ rights in the name of health. As of December, six states
— Maine, Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Delaware and New
York — had outlawed smoking at standalone bars, and twice that number
had decided to make smoking in restaurants illegal.
It looks like the ban is here to stay — it might be time to actually
keep that nagging
New Year’s resolution!
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