Big Island bars may face ban on smoking
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — The Big Island would become the first county in the state to ban smoking in all bars under a bill that won preliminary approval from a County Council committee yesterday.
The measure, which still needs approval by the full council, also would prohibit smoking in enclosed workplaces, bowling alleys and indoor and outdoor dining areas of all restaurants.
Roanne Kaopua, who manages the Hilo Lanes bowling alley and the adjoining Golden Room bar, said her patrons overwhelmingly oppose the proposed restrictions.
"I think it will really be a hardship on us businesses," she told members of the council's Human Services and Economic Development Committee. "To ban smoking in the bar would be akin to putting a nail in the coffin of our business as well as other businesses."
Most speakers during two hours of testimony were strongly in favor of the bill, with high school and college students, doctors, nurses and restaurant patrons turning out in a well-organized campaign to support the measure.
Dozens of letters in support were delivered to the council, along with a petition signed by more than 900 high school students.
Smoking restrictions enacted by Kaua'i, Maui and Honolulu counties vary in some of the details, but all three still allow smoking at stand-alone bars and nightclubs where food service is considered incidental. Kaua'i and Honolulu also ban smoking in enclosed workplaces, while Maui does not.
Virginia Seng, a volunteer for the American Cancer Society, said bar and restaurant owners have nothing to fear from the proposed restrictions. She cited the case of the Lava Lounge in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, which banned smoking last year.
It continues to enjoy a brisk business, in part because it attracts patrons who would not go into a smoky establishment. The smokers are willing to step outside, she said.
Seng said she is a three-time cancer survivor, "and I don't want to see anyone else suffer from this disease if possible."
Others portrayed the ban as a workplace safety issue for bartenders and waitresses who are being forced to inhale toxic secondhand smoke.
'Between job and health'
Kailua resident Toni Ann Symons, a member of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawai'i, cited the example of her daughter Caitlin, who has asthma and often became ill from cigarette smoke while working in a restaurant in Honolulu. Honolulu's ban on smoking in restaurants helped her condition, Symons said.
"I don't want her to choose between a job and her health," she said. "She shouldn't have to."
The bill was loudly opposed by Pahoa resident Hank Roberts, who scolded the council for interfering in a decision he said should be made by business owners.
The council committee voted 7-1 in favor of the new restrictions, with only council Chairman James Arakaki opposed.
Arakaki said he was worried about the impact on bar owners and was particularly uncomfortable with the idea that the bill would ban a restaurant owner from smoking in his or her own office.
Councilman Aaron Chung voted for the bill, but said he will try to persuade other council members to exempt stand-alone bars.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
Correction: Virginia Seng, a supporter of a ban on smoking in bars, cited the Lava Lounge in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park as evidence that such a ban won't hurt bar businesses. The Lava Lounge banned smoking last year. The name of another business was given in a previous version of this story.
