Apparently it won't be as bad as I thought... It'll be up to patrons, bars to ban smoking City will not beef up tactics for enforcement By ALEXIS GRANT Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle TOOLS Email Get section feed Print Subscribe NOW Comments Recommend RESOURCES Houston%20Smoking%20Ban%20%2C%20houston%2Cpolitics%2Clocal%2Dnews%2Csmoking%20ban%2Cchron%2Ecom%2Csmoking%2Chouston%20chronicle%2Cbars%2Ctexas%2C%20Bar%20patrons%20and%20workers%20talk%20about%20challenges%20of%20Houston%27s%20new%20anti%2Dsmoking%20rules%2E%20Video%20by%20Lindsay%20Meeks%2E%20Aug%2E%207%2C%202007%2E SMOKING POLL If you noticed someone smoking where it's prohibited, would you ask them to stop? (Poll closes: Aug 15 at 11:59 p.m.) No, it's not my place 14% Yes, it's the law 12% No, smoke doesn't bother me 5% Yes, smoke bothers me 26% No, I'm against the smoking ban 41% Yes, for the sake of public health 3% CLEARING SMOKE Houston's new smoking ban goes into effect Sept. 1. • Existing ban: Prohibits smoking in some indoor establishments, including restaurants, but not bars. • Upcoming ban: Smoking will be prohibited in all indoor workplaces, including bars, with a few exceptions. • Exemptions: Outdoor patios, hotel or motel rooms designated for smoking, private rooms in nursing homes, tobacco shops, cigar bars that meet certain requirements, designated rooms in meeting facilities during private functions, stage areas of enclosed theaters when smoking is part of the performance. • More information: Contact the city's smoking enforcement program at 713-640-4359 or smoke.health@cityofhouston.net. Or visit the city's health Web site at www.houstontx.gov/health City of Houston When the city of Houston's smoking ban expands next month to include bars, it largely will be up to bar managers and their customers to enforce the new rules. The city is not beefing up enforcement tactics — it only has one smoking-enforcement officer, as well as 43 sanitarians who can issue citations — primarily because officials expect the ban to be self-enforcing, said Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for the city's Department of Health and Human Services. In other words, the non-smoking public likely will be the ones asking smokers not to light up where it is not allowed. "That will go a long way to provide enforcement," Barton said. While the current law prohibits smoking in some indoor workplaces, including restaurants, lighting up is allowed in bars and the bar sections of restaurants. The stricter ban, which goes into effect Sept. 1, will expand to bars and other indoor workplaces not covered now. The new law includes a handful of exemptions for cigar bars and tobacco shops, private rooms in nursing homes and designated smoking rooms in hotels, motels and meeting facilities. It also allows smoking on outdoor patios. Stricter ban was sought Along with its lone smoking-enforcement officer, who does not work at night when bar patrons would be most likely to break the rules, the city employs 43 sanitarians. They are not allowed to ticket smokers, but can issue citations to bar managers for failing to follow certain requirements, such as posting "no smoking" signs. Violators could face fines of up to $2,000. "There are so many people looking forward to it that we want to make sure that they know they have the right to help us enforce it," said Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, who pushed for the stricter ban before it was approved about a year ago. To date, the city has not received any applications for exemptions, Barton said. Lawrence Daniel, managing partner of the Downing Street Pub, said he planned to request a tobacco bar exemption, but had not realized the application was available online at the health department's Web site. He has doubts, he said, about the department's ability to enforce the ban. "I see a department within the city of Houston that is known to be short-handed, with a lot of area and a lot of places to cover, and an additional burden has been placed on them through this extended smoking ban," he said. "I'm just wondering how effective and efficient they're going to be at getting out there and enforcing it." During the first month, the department might have some kinks to work out, Barton said. "Probably in those exemptions are where the big bugs are going to come up, (including) people who think they should have an exemption for the cigar bar when they clearly don't meet the criteria," she said. The ordinance defines a tobacco bar as bringing in more than 20 percent of its revenue from the sale of tobacco products that are used on site. A tobacco store is defined as one that pulls in more than 60 percent of its revenue from the sale of tobacco products. Existing law allows health department employees to investigate complaints, but not to inspect restaurants at random for compliance. Under the new ordinance, inspectors will be able to randomly check establishments to make sure they are following the rules. Since the existing smoking ban went into effect in September 2005, the department has issued dozens of warnings, but only a handful of fine-carrying citations. Enforcement methods The city of El Paso also relies on self-enforcement. It has proved effective since the ban, which applies to all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, went into effect in January 2002, said Sue Beatty, who oversees training for the El Paso City-County Health & Environmental District. The city has no enforcement officers dedicated to smoking, she said. "Mostly, if someone sees someone smoking in a public place, they can tell management and that's pretty much the end of it," Beatty said. When there's a complaint, either a restaurant inspector or police officer responds to it, she said. But in New York City, where smoking has been prohibited in bars and restaurants since March 2003, enforcement works differently. The city employs 12 smoking-enforcement employees and another 55 restaurant inspectors who look for violations during routine inspections, said Sara Markt, a spokeswoman for New York City's health department. "One effect of the ban has been that people don't feel like they have to tolerate smoke in the public environment," Markt said. "If someone were to violate the rules, I think it is possible that someone would speak up. But we don't rely on that. ... We do the enforcement." As the city prepares for the more restrictive ban to take effect, a group of local bar, nightclub and cabaret owners is using a federal lawsuit to try to stop it. The group claims the ban creates unfair regulations not allowed by state law. A judge is expected to hear arguments for a temporary injunction against enforcement of the ordinance on Aug. 27.
I freaking hate smokers, some I have been friends with for a while others are family so I have to deal with them. September 1st is my birthday and nothing could be better than making smokers feel like the second class citizens they are. F-smokers
Well.....if that doesn't work out for you too well--say for instance, some smokers retaliate by inflicting bodily harm upon you; I'd think you might have some recourse against the city.
The countdown is on for Fatty's first thread about lighting up in a bar, having the bar owner asking him to put it out, Fatty refusing, and a melee ensuing...
I absolutely love the smoking ban. You can't smoke in any Canadian bar or restaurant. It's great. Makes going out fun again. I think that the US is a bit backwards about this issue.
A bar owner? No problem. It is their place. A patron? Well, I think we all know how that will go down.
QUESTION: Why not FRICKING OUTLAW TOBACCO AND BE DONE WITH IT?? What is all this nick picking crap? Rocket River
You tip your cap to the patron and give a laurel and hardy "thank you, kind sir" for bringing the new law to your attention?
What makes it really tough is that it kicks in at the beginning of football. So you will have to be timing your smokes for end of quarters, timeouts etc. Plus TABC will be watching people take drinks out with them and nail them for PI's etc.
I did a little over a year ago, but I've been through a few of these bans and it sucks at first, but you get used to it and it becomes normal.
Even when I smoked, I appreciated the smoking ban in Austin restaurants and bars. It wasn't that difficult to wait a few minutes to finish a meal and go outside. You'll get used to it.
