Washtenaw County bars brace for Michigan smoking ban that starts at 6 a.m. Saturday
The clock is ticking for smokers who want to light a cigarette in one of Michigan’s bars, restaurants and most other public spaces.
Michigan's Smoke-Free Air Law takes effect at 6 a.m. Saturday.
And with that deadline looming, Washtenaw County’s bars and restaurants are on the verge of discovering just what the new smoking ban will mean to their business.
Adam Schlecte of Ann Arbor smokes a cigarette while watching a ball game at the Arena Sports Bar in downtown Ann Arbor last month. Michigan bars and restaurants will go smokeless at 6 a.m. Saturday under a new state law.
Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com
The county estimates at least 300 bars and restaurants will be making the switch to smoke-free. Statewide, the ban also affects most Michigan workspaces. Casinos are a notable exception.
Health advocates welcome the approaching deadline, while many business owners are left wondering what the switch will mean for their sales.
Some aspects of the change are pretty obvious.
“We wash ashtrays every night. Tonight we’ll put them in a box,” said Brian Brickley, co-owner of the Tap Room in downtown Ypsilanti.
Brickley said he’s talked to some regular customers who are saying they’ll just have to adapt to the change. He’s hoping they’ll outnumber the customers who decide to stay home - where they can still light up.
But Karen Watts, manager at Banfield’s Bar and Grill on Packard Road in Ann Arbor, said the transition will be tough on her regular customers and her employees, most of whom smoke.
“I really do think it’s going to hurt our business,” she said.
Her customers who smoke have been complaining about the law, Watts said Friday. But she’s also fielded complaints about the state’s decision from non-smoking customers, too.
“They’re also upset about it,” she said, because they don’t want government making that choice for people.
“They say, ‘When we walk in this bar, we’re aware there will be smoke, and we make that choice to walk in.’”
The Arena Sports Bar in downtown Ann Arbor is making transition to a smoke-free bar an event: Dubbed “Smokefest,” the bar will offer $1 drafts after 9 p.m. Friday until close.
“After 9, about 80 percent of the people who come in here are smokers,” said Mike Flore. “…We have a large group of regulars that do smoke. I don’t think they’ll be happy about (the ban) come Saturday.”
Despite that, Flore is hopeful that business gets better once the bar goes smoke-free. Meanwhile, at Aubree’s Saloon in Ypsilanti’s Depot Town, the staff is turning the deadline into a commemorative event.
Aubree’s ashtrays will be handed out to customers at the end of the night, and each of the 50 or so ashtrays will be marked with a raffle number.
The winner gets a Zippo lighter with an engraved Aubree’s logo, said manager Sean McShane.
Customers at Aubree’s will still be able to find a welcoming area to smoke, McShane said. It’s just not inside the bar.
Benches and smokeless ashtrays have been set up across the street at Celebrations, which is also owned by Aubree’s owners Bill and Sandy French.
“We’re going to build an awning for it,” McShane said. “We still want people to feel comfortable.”
Still, like other bar owners, McShane and his coworkers have been posting signs and educating staff so that customers easily learn the new rules.
Brickley described his attitude as cautiously optimistic that smoking customers will adapts to the new regulations - and that nonsmokers will increase their patronage of businesses that once allowed smoking.
“Tomorrow will be an interesting day,” Brickley said.
Paula Gardner is Business News Director of AnnArbor.com. Contact her at 734-623-2586 or by email. Sign up for the weekly Business Review newsletter, distributed every Thursday, here.
Comments
doug
Tue, Jun 29, 2010 : 5:04 a.m.
I live in New York State and planned a vacation to Michigan until I found out I could not get a smoking room in a hotel anywhere. I will not come to Michigan this time or ever again. Michigan does not want to accomadate visitors/tourists. Say NO to Michigan.
TreeTownGal
Tue, May 4, 2010 : 8:59 a.m.
We celebrated the ban by going to Banfield's (East) and could tell the difference right away. We were able to stay as long as we wanted without coughing, having my eyes water or having to strip off clothes as soon as getting home (down the basement stairs they went). Food was as great as it always is! I now can be a regular again. Yee HA!!!
a2terryd
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 10:31 p.m.
I've worked in several states that have no smoking laws (NY,OH, IL,CA). I went to the bar Friday night and just got in from the bar tonight. I couldn't believe how pleasant it was to sit in a smoke free bar. Stay home smokers and find a blog to complain about your "rights"...you were not missed.
nuseph
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 7:16 p.m.
Serious question--what if the gov't had proposed that, instead of an all-out ban, establishments could continue to allow smoking if they provided their employees with gas masks? How many places would have chosen that option instead of going smoke-free?
nuseph
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 6:59 p.m.
Glad to see this go into effect. I've got nothing against smokers, but food and booze don't taste as good when all you can smell is smoke.
hypsi
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 11:59 a.m.
Studies, did someone say that wanted studies?: http://www.no-smoke.org/pdf/SHSBibliography.pdf http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/pubs/strsfs.html#classification%20of%20secondhand%20smoke%20as%20a%20known%20human%20carcinogen http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6195GM20100210 http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=second+hand+smoke+studies&hl=en&as_sdt=80000001&as_sdtp=on http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/results?vid=2&hid=108&sid=356d5a04-588a-47a4-bc94-66ec88a46d86%40sessionmgr114&bquery=(second+AND+hand+AND+smoke)&bdata=JmRiPWNpbjIwJnR5cGU9MCZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmU%3d http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v%3Aproject=medlineplus&query=second+hand+smoke There's more if this won't do and I'm not sure if the Ebsco link will work because it's part of an online database that you can access from mel.org. Sheesh, some of you sound like my neighbors that think burning garbage, plastics, and leaves don't contribute to bronchitis, pnemonia, sinus infections and cancer. I'd like send my medical bills every spring and fall to those neighbors when the burning starts.
proudtobeme
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 10:16 a.m.
Listen if you are so ignorant to believe that second (or first) hand smoke is NOT a health risk then I really don't want to waste my time trying to debate this. I have no problem with smokers,if you want to smoke that is fine with me. And I was a person who would avoid smokey places because I don't like it and that was my choice. I try to avoid things that I know aren't good for me. My point is that I am happy I can take my asthmatic son bowling w/o having breathing issues. I can't wait to enjoy a smoke free meal. I am sorry that smokers feel this is unfair,and maybe it is. But I am going to be completely selfish and enjoy the smoke free establishments.
Ignatz
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 9:54 a.m.
The benefits of smoking are up to me, not to you. I don't feel like googling second hand smoke. If you don't care to debate the issue, then I win. I'm tired of people telling other what to do based upon beliefs and not facts. The studies I've seen are shoddily done and/or funded by those who would benefit from cessation programs or medications. At least I can still light up my stogies in public, in my car, at home or just about anywhere else. Smoke, like noisy children, are nothing but an annoyance to others.
proudtobeme
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 8:19 a.m.
and it's hardly a bothersome practice as it is a HEALTH issue. Come on. Kids are bothersome,yes and so is smoking. BUT smoking is BAD for your health. I don't know how anyone can dispute the fact that smoking first and second hand is bad for you. Can anyone show me a study where smoking is good for you? What are the benefits of smoking?
proudtobeme
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 8:14 a.m.
if you google "second hand smoke" you will see all the evidence and studies. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
A2K
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 8:12 a.m.
Yes! As of now no more disgusting, smelly, eye-watering cigarettes or cigars! *happy dance* That perennial Red state, Texas, has had a smoking ban for 11+ years but that state is hardly "overrun" with Liberals. Even the south-eastern tobacco states have state-wide smoking bans. Michigan, yet again, is last in line to make sound, sane policy. It's not a Red of Blue issue, it's an issue of health.
Ignatz
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 7:55 a.m.
I can understand banning indoor smoking when there is not enough vemntilation, especially for those who have breathing issues, anyway. However, what's the problem with smoking outdoors? I think at that point the complaint is one of some not wanting to smell smoke and not one of health. So, let's ban all bothersome practices. I'd like to see a ban on loud bratty kids and the parents who let them be that way. I can't go into Chucky Cheese and I so want to, but can because of the noise. It upsets me. I can't relax. As for it being a fact that second hand smoke is harmful, can anyone give name a study where that is proved absolutely?
proudtobeme
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 6:06 a.m.
and for the record we have tried taking him to some of our favorite "smoking" places,just to see if he would react,and hoping he would not so we could go to some of our favorites. The few times we tried this,every time he had issues with his asthma, one of which required a trip to the ER. It was the ER trip that forced us not to go to any restaurants that allowed smoking. AND so yes,again,I am very excited that my 7 year old son can go bowling again! and he is too!
proudtobeme
Sat, May 1, 2010 : 5:58 a.m.
stopfoodignorance what a minute.....my son has ASTHMA so taking him into a smoking establishment is hazardous to his health! Also it is a fact that second hand smoke is hazardous to anyone's health. If someone else is drinking alcohol they are not damaging my liver or my sons,only their own. (Now if they drive that is a whole different story.) You can't compare apples and oranges here. I'm sorry that smokers don't realize their second hand smoke is not good for anyone. AND I'm am excited that my asthmatic son will be able to go to a bowling alley or some of my favorite restaurants without having an asthma attack.
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 11:56 p.m.
Five more hours! We're getting a large group together to go to a local bar tomorrow night, just to show them they don't necessarily have to worry about the new law.
genericreg
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 8:54 p.m.
I look forward to freqenting the restaurants that are embracing the change, and staying away from those that are whining about it. If we all do this, all of the restaurants will get exactly what they thought would happen from the ban...
stopfoodignorance
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 8:09 p.m.
See the biggest part of this for me is that it opens up to the non-smokers the ability to bring their kids to some of their favorite establishments(taken from an earlier post) So what you're saying is bringing your kids into a place where alcohol is served freely to whomever(of age) wants it is fine, but, you would never let them be around the same people, if they were able to smoke? What kind of stupid crap is that? Here Johnny hang out with these alcoholics while daddy and mommy drink our brains out....but stay away from those grown adults who smoke while they drink their brains out. Garbage Garbage....straight horse crap.
Paul the Malcontent
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 7:22 p.m.
@Woman in Ypsi: I'm right there with you on that (ex-smoker considering buying a pack and smoking as a form of civil disobedience-maybe hanging out just upwind from an outdoor restaurant patio puffing away, or hitting Abe's or the Fleetwood with the Saturday night bar crowds or the wee-hours-of-Sunday-morning breakfast regulars, or a 24-hour truck stop cafe). I can understand the desire for smoke-free workplaces, and agree that they should be mandated. BUT I would have liked to have seen an option whereby establishments could choose to offer a smoking area as long as it was completely isolated from the non-smoking area, and even require similar accommodations for employees (e.g., no employee could be forced to work in a smoking area, perhaps even making that preference an equal opportunity employment issue). And can anyone explain how a smoking hotel room qualifies as a "place of employment" when only the guest is in the room?
Jon Saalberg
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 7:13 p.m.
@bruceae: if you were left a state decimated by the previous governor's tax giveaways, fully supported by his GOP majority legislature, you wouldn't have been able to do much with the state, either. Add auto companies that made poor product planning decisions leading to the decimation of that industry, and a national recession under Bush, and you have a GOP recipe for disaster - the current GOP majority is so partisan, they couldn't even bring themselves to approve Granholm's university appointments. That is way beyond "politics as usual."
Edward R. Murrow's ghost
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 6:24 p.m.
bruceae: The governor cannot balance the budget by themselves. The Republican-controlled state Senate has refused to cooperate. You, kinda like the Republicans in Congress. It might be good politics, but it is ruining our state and our nation.
johnnya2
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 6:17 p.m.
So if a private business decides to harm their employees the government should not be involved? This ban is about the employees NOT the patrons. I suppose you wouldn't care if a "private" business decided to not have their employees wash their hands after taking a dump, then preparing your food you would be ok with it? If businesses won't do the right thing, it is the responsibility of the government to demand they do the right thing. Those businesses that have not had smoking already won't spend one second worrying about this. Also just for a fact check, other states that have imposed these bans have seen INCREASED volume in their bars and restaurants. Smokers are the rude minority now.
Edward R. Murrow's ghost
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 6:13 p.m.
LOL. So I guess you'd prefer that the health department not inspect restaurant kitchens so as to help to prevent food-borne disease? Just like health department inspections, this is about the health of patrons and of employees.
bruceae
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 6:10 p.m.
Gov. Worthless can't get schools funded or manage to balance a state budget but she sure can take away our right to smoke and text. Welcome to the Nanny State
bwebb
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 5:49 p.m.
Whether you smoke or not you should not be pleased at the government telling a private business how to run their business.
Edward R. Murrow's ghost
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 5:39 p.m.
Thank God!!!!!!
proudtobeme
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 5:36 p.m.
I can hardly wait! Now I can take my (asthmatic) son to some of my favorite restaurants and to the bowling alley!
Woman in Ypsilanti
Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 4:51 p.m.
I quit smoking years ago but there is a part of me that wants to go buy a pack just so I can hit the bar tonight and smoke up! (I won't though). I was disappointed to learn that the ban includes outdoor patio areas but am glad that local bar owners are going to provide places for smokers to go. I still have friends who smoke and want them to enjoy our nights out as much as I do. I will be happy not to smell of smoke any more though.