Bars brace for smoking ban

Bloomington barflies -- prepare to snub your butts.\nBloomington Municipal Code Chapter 6.12, also known as the "smoking ban," has been in effect for all restaurants and public places in the city for more than a year. But beginning Jan. 1, 2005, the ban will apply to all Monroe County bars and clubs, meaning no one will be able to legally light up inside a bar. \nBut some students questioned the constitutionality of the new code.\n"It comes down to freedom," said law student Rishi Prasad. "Why can't the owner of a bar do what he wants inside his bar when any of us can do what we want in our own houses?"\nWhile some local bar patrons are concerned about the smoking ban expansion, others expect a seamless transition.\n"As long as the owner or employee of the bar asks the smoker to stop smoking, the bar can then say they've done what we've asked," said Bloomington City Council Attorney Dan Sherman.\nThe ban, which has been in effect for restaurants since Aug. 2003, will remain unchanged. Beginning 2005, though, previously exempt bars and clubs allowing only those 21 and older, such as Nick's English Hut, will be enforceable grounds for smokers.\nMo Molengraft, a manager of Nick's, said he is not in favor of the code.\n"I personally disagree with it," he said. "Everyone who comes in here is 21. It's not like this is a health spa."\nLaw student Erin Knowles said the smoking ban could deter her from going out.\n"I won't go to the bars anymore," she said. "I'll just hold more house parties."\nAccording to the code, violators of the smoking ban will be issued citations, with each offense costing the smoker a $100 fine.\n"But it leaves open the possibility of a more severe penalty if there are multiple violations," Sherman said.\nThough police intend to enforce the ban, Bloomington Police Department Captain Michael Diekhoff said officers would not take an active role in ticketing.\n"We're not going to patrol, and we're not going to become the smoking police," he said. "If there are complaints, we'll respond, but we're not going to actively go out and look for violators."\nDiekhoff also said he anticipates a smooth transition to a non-smoking Bloomington bar scene.\n"We've had really good compliance with the restaurants," he said. "Bars pose a little more difficulty, but I don't think it's going to be a problem."\nLocal bars, such as Nick's and Kilroy's on Kirkwood, have been preparing for the transition for months. Molengraft said he thinks, with the appropriate changes, business should run smoothly though the new year. \n"I don't think it will hurt business," he said. "But we're going to have to revamp how we handle things."\nMolengraft said Nick's current entry system would not be compliant to customers' smoke breaks.\n"We're basically landlocked," he said. "We can't expand to have a smoking section. And we don't do hand stamps, so if someone goes outside for a cigarette, how do we handle that?"\nSherman said bars and clubs will be required to fulfill certain responsibilities the law entails, such as proper signs.\n"There are obligations placed upon those who own or manage a bar," he said. "But when it comes to an owner of a business, they won't be fined if they've taken reasonable and timely measures to personally inform violators of the provision and ask them to stop smoking."\nOne IU law student, Kelley Halliburton, said she wasn't concerned with more smoke-free nights.\n"All it means is I'll have to do laundry less," she said. "I won't have to wash my jeans every day."\nSteve Comuntzis, an IU law student, said an active economy should dictate the necessity of smoking bans.\n"How come the market hasn't taken care of it if it's really desired," he asked. "If people want a non-smoking bar, someone will start one."\nStill, Molengraft said patrons will grow accustomed to the new policy.\n"If you're going out with your friends, you'll get used to not smoking."\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.