Michigan adjusting to new reality: No smoking

Dale Hilkens, who tends bar at Rivalry's in Bedford Township, says customers who want to smoke have been going outside and the new law ‘has not been a problem.' JETTA FRASER Enlarge

Yesterday was a normal work day for Dale Hilkens - with one exception.

Mr. Hilkens, who tends bar at Rivalry's in Bedford Township, removed the matches and ashtrays from the establishment and affixed a "Smoke Free" sign to the front door.

Thus, for him, began Day One of Michigan's smoking ban in public places.

"They've all been going outside to smoke," Mr. Hilkens said of his customers who are partial to puffing. "It has not been a problem."

Michigan becomes the 26th state to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, which tracks smoking legislation across the country.

Kansas will be next, when its ban goes into effect July 1, and Wisconsin will follow on July 5.

Ohio's ban took effect in late 2006.

"With Michigan, Kansas, and Wisconsin included, 64 percent of the U.S. population live in jurisdictions with smoke-free bars and restaurants. That doesn't include Washington, D.C., or Puerto Rico, both of which are smoke-free too," said Bronson Frick, the foundation's associate director.

At AJ's Doolittles sports grill in Bedford Township, customer Cathy Samberg was all for the new law.

"I love it. It's nice to come in and eat food, not cigarette smoke," she said.

Jenni Baldwin, who tends bar there, said customers who have talked about the ban have been overwhelmingly supportive of it.

"I had two guys come in and say they'd be coming in a lot more now. I've been getting phone calls from people wanting to know when it went into effect. I tell them May 1, and they say 'Oh, good.'•"

Michigan's county health departments are responsible for enforcing the new smoking law. First-time offenders - businesses and individuals - can be fined $100; the penalty climbs to $500 for repeat offenses.

Rebecca Head, the Monroe County health director, said she doesn't anticipate significant problems.

"We have been enforcing restrictions in restaurants since the 1980s, making sure there is a smoke-free area," she said. "Now we'll be looking to see if the whole place is smoke-free."

Ms. Head said enforcement would depend on complaints from customers, but she did not expect a flood of them.

"I have great faith that business owners support this and want to protect the health of their workers," she said.

Ms. Baldwin predicted the bar business would benefit from the new law.

"I honestly think it will be better in the long run. We've had ladies come in and say 'Can you seat me as far away from the smoke as possible?' We won't hear that any more."

Which is not to say the ban is met with total satisfaction.

Seated at the bar at Rivalry's, Mark Madrid said the measure was overkill.

"I don't smoke, but smoking doesn't bother me. You can send a kid to fight at 18, but he can't come back here and smoke," he said.

And Mrs. Samberg said she believed bars should be given more leeway to accommodate smokers. Michigan's law, unlike Ohio's, does not exempt bar patios.

Ms. Head said the new law would result in a healthier Wolverine State.

Some cities across the nation have found their incidence of heart attacks falling by more than a third only three years after enacting a smoking ban similar to Michigan's, she said.

"If you have a sensitivity to smoke or asthma or are an older person with breathing problems, you'll be better off," she said. "I expect it to make a big difference."

Contact Carl Ryan at:

carlryan@theblade.com

or 419-724-6050.