Up in Smoke? Cigarette Ban has Varied Impact on Local Businesses

A smoker for 55 years, Jerry Lilly can't see the sense in the statewide smoking ban that has now been in place for one year.

"I hate it," he said, sitting on a stool at , unable to light up the traditional way.

The bar, he and bartender Tina Uselding explain, often sits empty when the patrons and bartender together head outside to have a smoke.

"It's come one, come all," Uselding said, adding that the ban is especially annoying because many people who drink also smoke.

"That's what bars are," she said.

But because the regulars to The Patio seem to head outdoors for a cigarette in a pack, the ban hasn't seemed to hurt the bar and restaurant's business. If anything has had a negative effect on its operation, Uselding said it's the dragging economy.

But not all local businesses seem to be clear of the effect of Wisconsin's smoking ban, which became law on July 5, 2010.

Susan Rabus, owner of in downtown Port, said the ban has made her establishment lose some patrons.

"Several customers won't even come in here because they only drink and smoke together," she said.

Rabus said she supports the ban in hospitals, restaurants and other such businesses, but not in establishments that are meant to operate solely as bars.

Bars are a last pit stop for people to unwind, "release your grief and your emotions," and some people use cigarettes to do that, she said.

New Port Shores ahead of the game

But it was emotions that caused ' owner John Weinrich to decide to go smoke free in his bar and restaurant three years ago.

Weinrich lost his mother to esophageal cancer.

"The emotions were there, so we decided to go (smoke free)," he said. "It’s hard for nonsmokers to be in smoke all the time."

And not only has the decision been a feel-good moment for him, its been good for business.

"It was greatest thing we ever did," he said, "Bar sales went up."

Debate continues on effect of ban

One of the main objections to the law a year ago was that it would hurt business at bars and restaurants because smokers would stay away from those establishments if they weren’t allowed to light up.

But  Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of SmokeFree Wisconsin, said that hasn’t been the case.

In the first six months after the law was passed, she said state figures showed that business in Wisconsin’s hospitality industry rose 1.5 percent over the previous year. But in bars, business was up 3.5 percent during that same period.

“I don’t doubt that some people had a decline in business,” she said. “But overall most places are doing better than before.”

But not everyone agrees with Busalacchi's finding that the ban isn’t hurting business at Wisconsin taverns and restaurants. Officials at the Tavern League of Wisconsin said their members are taking a hit.

"The ban has been devastating to a lot of the small bars, mom-and-pop operations, where it was a blue-collar bar to begin with and most of their customers were smokers," said Barbara Mercer, senior vice president of the organization. "I myself faced a 35 percent loss of business and for anyone to say that the smoking ban hasn’t hurt small businesses, it’s simply not true."

Mercer said her Madison bar took a big hit – and she says the smoking ban is without a doubt a factor.

"I just sold my bar yesterday after 20 years because it was either that or close it," she said in an interview Friday. "A good part of it was the economy, no question about that, but I had to lay off nine full-time employees in the last year.

"I had six bars close in Madison in the last few weeks," Mercer added. "They just couldn’t make it because of the losses between the economy and the smoking ban. When you put one on top of the other it was just a double whammy to us."

Walker changes his tune on ban

Mercer was also disheartened by Gov. Scott Walker’s announcement last week that . Walker was an opponent of the legislation but now says he believes it is working.

"The governor, who promised us that he would look at the law seriously, has commented that he thinks the law is a good thing and he’s going to leave it in place," Mercer said. "It’s just one more thing that the governor has lied to us about. We’re very disappointed in his position to not look at this and make some exceptions and changes."

Rabus said she, too, was very upset by Walker's lack of action on the ban.

Rabus said she voted for Walker believing he would get rid of the ban, but now says she "should never have done that."

The ban seems to maintain high levels of popularity among Wisconsinites.

A poll released last week by the American Cancer Society and SmokeFree Wisconsin found that 75 percent of those surveyed support or strongly support the law. That’s up from 69 percent in 2008, when state lawmakers were still debating the issue.

The poll of 500 voters, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, also found that 64 percent say the law has made going out to bars and restaurants more enjoyable while 91 percent say they go out to eat and drink the same or more often now that the state is smoke free.