
{"id":8621,"date":"2010-01-07T10:40:59","date_gmt":"2010-01-07T18:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=8621"},"modified":"2010-01-07T10:40:59","modified_gmt":"2010-01-07T18:40:59","slug":"smoking-ban-clears-the-air-at-some-establishments-while-hurting-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2010\/01\/07\/smoking-ban-clears-the-air-at-some-establishments-while-hurting-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoking ban clears the air at some establishments while hurting others"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Beth Mechum<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Staff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The North Carolina smoking ban, which outlaws lighting up in most bars and restaurants, went into effect Jan. 2.<\/p>\n<p>Given North Carolina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ties to tobacco, passage of the law took many by surprise, and could have a significant impact on many businesses. But in Carrboro and surrounding towns, it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a huge step.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Even before the law went into effect, you were more likely to find an establishment in Carrboro that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t allow smoking than one that did. And some places, like the Orange County Social Club and the Reservoir, chose to prepare their customers early. <\/p>\n<p>Reservoir went smoke-free in November. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We figured we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to do it in January anyway, might as well do a pre-emptive strike and get everybody prepared,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lyle Collins, a bartender at Reservoir, said.<\/p>\n<p>Collins said he hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t heard many complaints from patrons, and after the first couple of days with no ash trays and a multitude of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no smoking\u00e2\u20ac\u009d signs, people got used to the routine of heading outside to light up.<\/p>\n<p>Keith Allen of Allen &#038; Son Bar-B-Q said his restaurant has been non-smoking for years, though he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily agree with what he considers interference with the rights of smokers.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153[I]f you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t smoke, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want someone sitting beside you that does smoke,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But you have a right to leave just like you have a right to smoke. What you have to have is mutual consideration from both sides.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153For the most part, people seem to enjoy it a little bit better\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to have their niceties dry cleaned every time they leave the bar,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Collins said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The work environment is definitely better.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Providing a healthier work environment was in fact one of the primary arguments made by sponsors of the bill, which passed in May.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sticking point for local business owner Adam Bliss. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s angry about the bill, and at his local representatives for not exempting his business.<\/p>\n<p>Bliss owns Hookah Bliss, a bar specializing in water pipes used to smoke mostly fruity-flavored tobaccos, on Franklin Street. While a similar business, such as a cigar bar, falls under an exemption from the ban, Hookah Bliss does not.<\/p>\n<p>Bliss fought the ban for months by lobbying the legislature and trying to get help from state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, who represents Orange County, but said he was disappointed with what he felt was a lack of support.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They just never really gave me a good answer for why we weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exempt,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bliss said, adding that he thought a more powerful lobbying effort on the part of cigar bars played a role. <\/p>\n<p>He said he has no plans to shut down his business, and plans to accept any fines that come his way.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to do business as usual until we get a ticket,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153then we are going to do business until we go to court.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The Orange County Health Department is responsible for enforcing the ban, and Bliss said he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been frustrated with department members\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 responses to his inquiries.<\/p>\n<p>Orange County Health Director Rosemary Summers said the main goal of enforcement is education, and that it is mostly complaint-driven.<\/p>\n<p>Violators of the ban will be advised on how to follow the letter of the law, and then be given the opportunity to comply, before being fined. After that, businesses could be fined up to $200 a day.<\/p>\n<p>As of Tuesday, four days after the law went into effect, Summers said she hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t received any complaints. She also said that if a health department official saw a violation, he or she could work to enforce the law, but there was no intent to seek out violators.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no health department that has the staff to go out and police, looking actively for violations,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Beth Mechum Staff Writer The North Carolina smoking ban, which outlaws lighting up in most bars and restaurants, went into effect Jan. 2. Given North Carolina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ties to tobacco, passage of the law took many by surprise, and could have a significant impact on many businesses. But in Carrboro and surrounding towns, it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8621"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8623,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621\/revisions\/8623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}