Public to weigh in today on smoking ban plan
Columbia City Council today will listen to residents on whether smoking should be banned in public indoor areas — including restaurants and bars.
Council’s seven members will have the final say on whether the ban is enacted or goes up in smoke.
Mayor Bob Coble is behind the push, inspired by a recent U.S. surgeon general’s report that showed the hazards of secondhand smoke are worse than originally thought.
The S.C. Tobacco Collaborative, a statewide nonprofit, backs the ban. According to the city clerk, more than 55 residents who cannot attend today’s meeting have sent e-mails in support of the ban.
None has been sent from residents who are opposed.
“We are expecting to have strong support there,” said Renee Martin, the collaborative’s executive director.
Bar owners and smokers also are expected to pack City Hall to speak out against the ban because of its anticipated impact on profit margins — and personal freedom.
Dave Harris, owner of Night Caps on Devine Street, estimates 85 percent to 90 percent of his customers smoke.
“My patrons want to have a drink, relax, ease the stress of the day and have a cigarette,” he said. “Drinking and smoking go hand in hand. It’s not fair to tell them they can’t do that.
“Smoking is such a major part of the bar business, it really would cripple us, completely devastate us.”
At-large council member Daniel Rickenmann said he would back a compromise — one that bans smoking in restaurants but allows it in bars.
“A restaurant caters to so many different people, including families with children,” said Rickenmann, who owns three restaurants, including Birds on a Wire. “But in a bar, you’re 21 or older. You make a decision to go there.”
Rickenmann said he has heard from several upset bar owners who worry patrons who light up will flee to bars outside the city.
“All those people in the Vista, they just have to drink across the bridge,” Rickenmann said. “People on Two Notch, they’re half in the city, half in the county. There’s too many cases where you can really affect business.”
But Martin and others say a compromise is unacceptable.
“This is a workplace health issue,” Martin said. “A compromise doesn’t help those (workers) who are in that environment six to eight hours each day. Most of us are fortunate enough to work in a smoke-free environment. They should be, too.”
If the ban were to pass, Columbia would be the second South Carolina city to have one. Sullivan’s Island enacted one in May.
That ban was called into question earlier this month when a bar owner legally challenged the town over its smoking ordinance.
Hilton Head Town Council is expected to debate its own ban next month. A majority of restaurants, bars and other businesses that responded to a recent survey said they supported efforts to ban smoking in indoor workplaces on the island.
