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Smoking permitted by law

A bill is making its way through the State Senate to allow bars and clubs to get licenses to allow smoking


By Ed Morita

While at the American Cancer Society on Tuesday, one of the employees told me he was asked to testify on behalf of the ACS at a State Senate hearing on a bill addressing the smoking ban.

Thanks to a little help from State of Hawaii Communications Director Georgette Deemer, I was able to find out that SB708, introduced by Senators Mike Gabbard, Suzanne Chun Oakland, Brickwood Galuteria and Pohai Ryan, is currently making its rounds in the State Senate. If passed, SB708 will amend the state smoking ban to allow establishments with a class 5, 6, or 11 liquor license to purchase a permit for $1,000-$3,000 (depending on their type of license), to allow people to smoke at their restaurants and bars.

Although I admit that I enjoy a cigar every once in a while, I consider myself a non-smoker because I do not like cigarettes. Truth be told, I find it a disgusting habit due to some smokers practice of throwing cigarette butts on the ground, but I digress.

Despite my opinions on smoking, I’ve been against the smoking ban since it first went into effect in 2006, because of its effect on small businesses — bars and clubs in particular. Non-smokers have every right to be able to go to a smoke-free bar or club. However, I believe bar and club owners should decide whether people are allowed to smoke in their establishments, and if SB708 passes, they will. Yes, bars and clubs that chose to allow smoking may lose some business, but that’s the owners’ decision.

For now, the Senate Committee on Health has deferred the measure, but hopefully, SB708 will make it to the Senate floor for consideration.

So what do you think? Should bars and clubs be able to choose whether or not they allow smoking?

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Read more of Ed’s blog entries at www.nonstophonolulu.com/BakersHours. Follow Ed on Twitter @NctrnlBst or e-mail him at Ed@nonstophonolulu.com.

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nonstopmari 245 pts

been thinking abt this one. i'm torn btwn business owners' rights and govt allowing public use of a known carcinogen. and selfishly, i'm afraid some of my favorite places will allow smoking, and then i won't be able to patronize them any more. it sounds draconian, but i'm siding w/ continuing the ban.

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chrisota 19 pts

I think the state has been fine without smoking in clubs or bars. People still smoke outside and imo, it's a great excuse to get away from what is going on inside the bar or club. I aggree with Melissa Kim, a business will only be hurting themselves by allowing people to smoke in their establishment once again.

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Melissa_Kim 20 pts

I hate being around cigarettes and frankly, I'm afraid that if this bill goes through then the places I frequent will take out this license and I'm not going to be able to enjoy my favorite bars anymore, so where does that leave me? Bar-less =) I understand a business's right to run their business, but smoking and secondhand smoking has already been proven to be hazardous to everyone's health, so in this case, I think the greater good lies with banning smoking period. I'd like to see exactly how many businesses that have been adversely affected by the smoking ban.

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edmorita 71 pts

Melissa_Kim during my clubbing days, I would hate coming home to find my clothes smelling like an ashtray. I knew that the clubs I went to allowed smoking but I made the decision to go anyway. I believe that this issue should not be about the patrons, but about the right of business owners to run their business they way they want. If they want to allow smoking in their establishment, then they should have the right to do so.

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Melissa808 268 pts

This may sound contradictory to my lifestyle, but I've also been semi-against the smoking ban. I'm not a smoker at all, it does bother me if I'm too close, and I think it's a dirty habit. But like you, I believe business owners have the right to choose if their customers should be allowed to smoke or not. It shouldn't be the other way around, where the customer predetermines how someone should run their business. It may end up in a loss of some business, but the proprietor goes into it knowing that. And I, as a potential customer, can choose if I want to patronize that business or not. I'd most likely not go to a smoking establishment, but so what? Maybe I'm not the owner's target audience.

If they're able to, it would be ideal if bars & clubs could provide a smoking area so it doesn't bother non-smokers.

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edmorita 71 pts

Melissa808 I can see places with open air patios like Tiki's, Bar 35, Thirtynine Hotel and Oceans having smoking areas, but I don't think that many places will allow smoking on the dance floor.

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turkfontaine 202 pts

Melissa808 i too have a problem with banning all bars from tobacco.

as long as cigarettes are legal, the law ought not penalize the places where simbiotic habits are indulged. (BTW. i think Honolulu smokes more than any city outside Winston Salem, NC)

its' a tough call, most young adults who smoke began smoking in clubs and bars, but i prefer an approach that is a mixture of restriciting smoking in non-social locations and continued education about the risks.

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About Ed Morita

Ed Morita spent more than a decade working as a pastry chef at some of the country's premiere resorts and restaurants, including the Halekulani Hotel, The Greenbrier Resort & Spa in West Virginia, Bay Harbor Yacht Club in Michigan and Longhi’s Restaurant in Honolulu. After a near-career-ending injury forced him out of the kitchen, he embarked on a new career as a food writer, photographer and blogger for Metromix Honolulu and Nonstop Honolulu (nonstophonolulu.com), where he now writes the Baker's Hours blog. He's also entered the realm of politics, serving as the photography captain for the Abercrombie for Governor campaign in 2010, then becoming Gov. Abercrombie's official photographer until 2012 when he became the Social Media Director for the Mazie Hirono for U.S. Senate campaign. He's excited and honored to be the official blogger for the 2012 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival. You can follow Ed's adventures online at bakershours.com.

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