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05-20-2003, 05:30 PM
Some testify smoke-free bill would hurt business
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
By ANDREW GLAZER and HERB JACKSON
STAFF WRITERS
Even just the faint whiff of cigarette smoke spoiled Tom Lamparillo's lunch.
"I can't eat and smell that stuff," said the 38-year-old title agent from Waldwick, sipping a midday lager at General Poor's Tavern in Hackensack. "Smoking is a problem. It's disgusting and unhealthful, and it affects all of us. I wouldn't go over to someone's plate and sneeze on it."
Lamparillo and thousands of other New Jersey non-smokers may no longer have to endure the blue haze of the barroom - or just about any other establishment where smoking is permitted.
A Senate committee took testimony Monday on a bill that would ban smoking in nearly every indoor space that is accessible to the public - restaurants, bars, taverns, casinos, racetracks, and shopping malls. There are some important exemptions, but the "Clean Indoor Air Act" would be the most sweeping anti-smoking measure in state history.
Versions of the bill have languished for nearly eight years. But anti-smoking advocates in New Jersey have launched a new lobbying campaign in recent weeks, emboldened by successes in New York City and five states that have enacted similar bans.
The measure still faces a long legislative fight between anti-smoking advocates and restaurant, tobacco, and casino interests that fear the measure could harm their businesses. The Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee heard testimony on the bill Monday, but did not vote on it.
Industry officials in Trenton were not the only ones voicing concerns. Stopping smoking could turn away customers who enjoy nursing a cigarette over a drink or after dinner. Fewer customers, fewer tips.
"Oh, God, say it ain't so," said Regina Narduzzi, 28, who has poured drinks at General Poor's Tavern on Hackensack's Main Street for three years. "I'll be out of a job."
She was among the majority of bar and restaurant workers interviewed Monday who said they feared a smoking ban would choke business.
"People will just stop coming," said Tara Serino, 29, a bartender at Rosie's Steak House in Little Ferry, who was enjoying a smoke and a beer at a Teaneck bar Monday afternoon. "It will be devastating."
Some bar owners stated their case in Trenton on Monday.
"I'm pleading for my livelihood," Terry Duffy, owner of Duffy's Tavern in Paterson, told the committee.
Barbara McConnell, lobbyist for the New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association, which represents taverns, cited a newspaper article that said a ban in New York City had led to sharp drops in sales at bars. But advocates of the ban said the report was based on anecdotes, and that an analysis of tavern tax receipts in California, where a strict ban has been in effect for several years, showed no significant decline in revenue.
Some of the bill's proponents asked restaurant and bar workers to put their worries in perspective.
"Economic issues make a mockery of the public health issues," said Tara Peters of the American Cancer Society. "We're talking about something that kills people."
Supporters say the ban would have broad appeal with voters, especially among health-conscious "soccer moms" whom political consultants have targeted as a crucial suburban voting bloc in recent elections.
"A majority of people, especially parents, really do not want to be bothered by other people smoking in bars," said Jeff Tittel, executive director of the state chapter of the Sierra Club, who supports the bill.
Advocates contend that secondhand smoke contributes to lung cancer and other health problems in non-smokers.
"This is a Class A human carcinogen," Larry Downs of NJ Breathes, a coalition of 50 groups led by the Medical Society of New Jersey, said after Monday's hearing. "We don't let the marketplace regulate that in any other instance. If we were willing to apply that logic all the time, why not put a sign out front of a building that says, 'We're insulating with asbestos, if you want to come in, come on in, it's your choice.'"
But most smokers interviewed, and even many non-smokers, said that when they enter a bar they expect a cloud of blue smoke to greet them, just as they do a friendly bartender.
"I'm used to it," said Jerry Calamia, 39, a non-smoker who was eating a burger at General Poor's bar next to three puffing patrons. "You kind of know what you're getting into when you walk into a bar."
Dedicated smokers would need to hunt the state for cigar bars, or bars and restaurants with designated cigar lounges, if the bill passes. Some taverns and restaurants in which the principal owners run the place by themselves would also be exempt from the ban.
Committee sources said the measure was supposed to be posted for a vote on Monday, but one of the Republicans on the evenly divided six-member panel threatened to hold up all bills on the agenda unless the smoking bill was revised to include an exemption for casinos.
Donna Graham, executive vice president of Caesars Atlantic City, told the committee that a similar smoking ban imposed in Delaware in November significantly cut into revenues at Dover Downs, a racetrack with slot machines. She said revenues fell by 25 percent since then, while they fell only 3.6 percent in Atlantic City.
Those in favor of the bill, including representatives from the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and American Lung Association, said they were confident the committee would consider the bill again on June 9.
The general manager of the Coach House Diner on Route 4 in Hackensack said he favored the bill. But Glenn Pappas said he wouldn't dare give up his eight smoking seats before a statewide ban, fearing he would lose customers to competition.
"I don't think people will leave the state to go eat," said Pappas, who quit smoking last year. "The bill would be better for everybody."
His customer, Manhattan resident Michael Dean, 37, said he couldn't wait. Dining in the restaurant's non-smoking section, he could still smell smoke emanating from the smoking section two tables away.
"The fact that you can make a smoking section just eight feet away from the no-smoking section is an embarrassment for New Jersey," he said.
***
The Legislature is considering the "Clean Indoor Air Act," which would ban indoor smoking in places that are accessible to the public. Here is how it would work:
Smoking banned
Racetracks, casinos, sports facilities, shopping malls, and apartment building lobbies.
Restaurants and taverns, unless they are "owner- operated" - the principal owners personally handle the day-to-day cooking, bartending, etc.
Smoking allowed
Establishments run by social or fraternal organizations.
Tobacconists.
Cigar bars - a bar, or part of a bar, designated for smoking, equipped with a separate ventilation system. Food, if served at all, must only be incidental.
Cigar lounges - a smoking area within a restaurant or bar that is enclosed by walls or windows, with a ceiling and solid door and a separate ventilation system.
Hotel guest rooms, provided each has a ventilation system.
The penalties
Smokers would be fined $100 for the first offense, $250 for a second offense, and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.
Operators who allow smoking and refuse to comply with an order to stop it would face a fine of $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense, and $1,000 for subsequent offenses.
Current law
Restaurants are only required to post their smoking policy and are permitted to tell customers they do not have a no-smoking area.
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
By ANDREW GLAZER and HERB JACKSON
STAFF WRITERS
Even just the faint whiff of cigarette smoke spoiled Tom Lamparillo's lunch.
"I can't eat and smell that stuff," said the 38-year-old title agent from Waldwick, sipping a midday lager at General Poor's Tavern in Hackensack. "Smoking is a problem. It's disgusting and unhealthful, and it affects all of us. I wouldn't go over to someone's plate and sneeze on it."
Lamparillo and thousands of other New Jersey non-smokers may no longer have to endure the blue haze of the barroom - or just about any other establishment where smoking is permitted.
A Senate committee took testimony Monday on a bill that would ban smoking in nearly every indoor space that is accessible to the public - restaurants, bars, taverns, casinos, racetracks, and shopping malls. There are some important exemptions, but the "Clean Indoor Air Act" would be the most sweeping anti-smoking measure in state history.
Versions of the bill have languished for nearly eight years. But anti-smoking advocates in New Jersey have launched a new lobbying campaign in recent weeks, emboldened by successes in New York City and five states that have enacted similar bans.
The measure still faces a long legislative fight between anti-smoking advocates and restaurant, tobacco, and casino interests that fear the measure could harm their businesses. The Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee heard testimony on the bill Monday, but did not vote on it.
Industry officials in Trenton were not the only ones voicing concerns. Stopping smoking could turn away customers who enjoy nursing a cigarette over a drink or after dinner. Fewer customers, fewer tips.
"Oh, God, say it ain't so," said Regina Narduzzi, 28, who has poured drinks at General Poor's Tavern on Hackensack's Main Street for three years. "I'll be out of a job."
She was among the majority of bar and restaurant workers interviewed Monday who said they feared a smoking ban would choke business.
"People will just stop coming," said Tara Serino, 29, a bartender at Rosie's Steak House in Little Ferry, who was enjoying a smoke and a beer at a Teaneck bar Monday afternoon. "It will be devastating."
Some bar owners stated their case in Trenton on Monday.
"I'm pleading for my livelihood," Terry Duffy, owner of Duffy's Tavern in Paterson, told the committee.
Barbara McConnell, lobbyist for the New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association, which represents taverns, cited a newspaper article that said a ban in New York City had led to sharp drops in sales at bars. But advocates of the ban said the report was based on anecdotes, and that an analysis of tavern tax receipts in California, where a strict ban has been in effect for several years, showed no significant decline in revenue.
Some of the bill's proponents asked restaurant and bar workers to put their worries in perspective.
"Economic issues make a mockery of the public health issues," said Tara Peters of the American Cancer Society. "We're talking about something that kills people."
Supporters say the ban would have broad appeal with voters, especially among health-conscious "soccer moms" whom political consultants have targeted as a crucial suburban voting bloc in recent elections.
"A majority of people, especially parents, really do not want to be bothered by other people smoking in bars," said Jeff Tittel, executive director of the state chapter of the Sierra Club, who supports the bill.
Advocates contend that secondhand smoke contributes to lung cancer and other health problems in non-smokers.
"This is a Class A human carcinogen," Larry Downs of NJ Breathes, a coalition of 50 groups led by the Medical Society of New Jersey, said after Monday's hearing. "We don't let the marketplace regulate that in any other instance. If we were willing to apply that logic all the time, why not put a sign out front of a building that says, 'We're insulating with asbestos, if you want to come in, come on in, it's your choice.'"
But most smokers interviewed, and even many non-smokers, said that when they enter a bar they expect a cloud of blue smoke to greet them, just as they do a friendly bartender.
"I'm used to it," said Jerry Calamia, 39, a non-smoker who was eating a burger at General Poor's bar next to three puffing patrons. "You kind of know what you're getting into when you walk into a bar."
Dedicated smokers would need to hunt the state for cigar bars, or bars and restaurants with designated cigar lounges, if the bill passes. Some taverns and restaurants in which the principal owners run the place by themselves would also be exempt from the ban.
Committee sources said the measure was supposed to be posted for a vote on Monday, but one of the Republicans on the evenly divided six-member panel threatened to hold up all bills on the agenda unless the smoking bill was revised to include an exemption for casinos.
Donna Graham, executive vice president of Caesars Atlantic City, told the committee that a similar smoking ban imposed in Delaware in November significantly cut into revenues at Dover Downs, a racetrack with slot machines. She said revenues fell by 25 percent since then, while they fell only 3.6 percent in Atlantic City.
Those in favor of the bill, including representatives from the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and American Lung Association, said they were confident the committee would consider the bill again on June 9.
The general manager of the Coach House Diner on Route 4 in Hackensack said he favored the bill. But Glenn Pappas said he wouldn't dare give up his eight smoking seats before a statewide ban, fearing he would lose customers to competition.
"I don't think people will leave the state to go eat," said Pappas, who quit smoking last year. "The bill would be better for everybody."
His customer, Manhattan resident Michael Dean, 37, said he couldn't wait. Dining in the restaurant's non-smoking section, he could still smell smoke emanating from the smoking section two tables away.
"The fact that you can make a smoking section just eight feet away from the no-smoking section is an embarrassment for New Jersey," he said.
***
The Legislature is considering the "Clean Indoor Air Act," which would ban indoor smoking in places that are accessible to the public. Here is how it would work:
Smoking banned
Racetracks, casinos, sports facilities, shopping malls, and apartment building lobbies.
Restaurants and taverns, unless they are "owner- operated" - the principal owners personally handle the day-to-day cooking, bartending, etc.
Smoking allowed
Establishments run by social or fraternal organizations.
Tobacconists.
Cigar bars - a bar, or part of a bar, designated for smoking, equipped with a separate ventilation system. Food, if served at all, must only be incidental.
Cigar lounges - a smoking area within a restaurant or bar that is enclosed by walls or windows, with a ceiling and solid door and a separate ventilation system.
Hotel guest rooms, provided each has a ventilation system.
The penalties
Smokers would be fined $100 for the first offense, $250 for a second offense, and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.
Operators who allow smoking and refuse to comply with an order to stop it would face a fine of $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense, and $1,000 for subsequent offenses.
Current law
Restaurants are only required to post their smoking policy and are permitted to tell customers they do not have a no-smoking area.