The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Hotel and bar owners across Saskatchewan plan to lobby the province for an exception to the upcoming public smoking ban. The Hotels Association of Saskatchewan wants bars and lounges to have the option of installing either a staffed smoking room with ventilation or a non-staffed room for lighting up. "We've got our work cut out for us, there's no question about it," said association spokesman Tom Mullin. "We have the support of the hospitality industry, but what we have to do is prove the negative economic impact of a full-blown smoking ban without any kind of consideration for a smoking room." He predicted the ban, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2005, will cost the hospitality industry and provincial government millions of dollars in lost business and tax revenue, and result in hundreds of pink slips being handed out. The hardest hit by the ban would be the smaller bars and lounges in rural Saskatchewan, said Mullin. For evidence that a smoking ban can spell bad news for an economy, he said people need look no further than Winnipeg, Brandon and Moose Jaw, which have all gone smoke free in recent years. "The non-smokers are not filling the void of the smokers [who don't come back]," said Mullin. The association, which represents about 85 per cent of bars and hotels in the province, is unsure at this point of how it will proceed in trying to establish a smoking room allowance. "I have no idea how this is going to play out, but we have to do a lot of homework as far as the economic impact on the province and what it's going to mean on the hospitality industry as a whole," said Mullin. Brian Graham, president and CEO of the Lung Association of Saskatchewan, said neither a ventilated room nor a non-staffed smoking room would truly protect workers and patrons from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke. "There's no scientific evidence that you can reduce smoke levels to any kind of safe level through ventilation," he said. Regarding a non-staffed smoking room, Graham said such rooms tend to get left open and that smoke can escape when smokers enter and exit. If 100 per cent of the smoke could be contained, he said bars should still not allow smoking because they serve alcohol, which could impair judgment and cause people to try lighting up. "It's never a good time to make decisions that will affect your life a great deal when you're under the influence of alcohol," he said. "Of course the tobacco industry would like people to make that decision in a bar because they're probably going to make the wrong decision." The hotels association earlier this year distributed posters to its member businesses encouraging people who oppose the ban to make their voices heard. One poster depicted a bar that is permitted to serve nothing but milk; the other a woman serving a burger sandwiched not with meat but with broccoli. Both designs feature the caption, "If they ban smoking, what's next? See 'Concern' P.# Con't from P.# Creighton Mayor Bruce Fidler and Denare Beach Mayor Carl Lentowicz have previously expressed concern that the ban might hurt businesses in their communities. "I'm sure probably right off the bat it may have some effect, but hopefully nothing that can't be worked through," said Mayor Fidler. "I certainly don't want to see any businesses lose business because of it. I hope it works out for the best." "I imagine it's going to have some effect until people get used to it, but to what degree, I don't know," said Mayor Lentowicz. As an ex-smoker, Mayor Fidler sees both sides of the issue. "I believe that everybody has the right to smoke if they're going to smoke, but on the same token, I support the people who have the right to have a smoke-free environment," he said. The Manitoba government will implement its own province-wide ban on October 1 of this year. A phone survey conducted by The Reminder last March indicated that twice as many Flin Flonners support that legislation than do not.12/8/04
