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Excerpts from: Anti-smoking law in effect

By MURALI BALAJI AND RYAN CORMIER For The News Journal [11/27/02]
 
Business was slow at the Greenwood Tavern in Greenwood on Tuesday night. But the people who were there were talking about Delaware's ban on indoor smoking, which went into effect at midnight, bartender Susan Lorenzo said.

Under the law passed earlier this year, no one in Delaware will be allowed to light up at bars, casinos, restaurants, hotel lobbies, office buildings or just about any other indoor public gathering place.

Supporters said the ban protects nonsmokers - from children in day-care centers to waiters and waitresses in restaurants - from the cancer-causing carcinogens spread by secondhand smoke. Delaware, has the nation's third highest death rate for tobacco-related cancers.

Other states and anti-smoking groups throughout the country will monitor the impact of the Clean Indoor Air Act on Delaware's businesses. Previously, only California had a statewide ban that included bars, casinos and restaurants. Maine, Utah and Vermont ban smoking in restaurants, but not bars.

As the state prepared Tuesday for its ban to take effect, bars and restaurants allowed their patrons to take advantage of one last day of smoking. Not all expect the ban to have as dramatic an impact as Varell does.

Sara Jones of the Walnut Room in Wilmington said business at her bar usually fluctuates, and there probably wouldn't be a significant loss of patrons because of the smoking ban. "We'll just quit [smoking]," Jones said.

Luann Brown, manager of the Bull's Eye Saloon and Restaurant in Wilmington, said the restaurant expected a "pretty smooth transition." She was unsure how the ban would affect business, but noted that the restaurant probably would have a better idea of the law's impact in two or three days.

"There will probably be a lot of people smoking in the parking lots," she said.

Mark Ruiz, manager of the Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon in New Castle, said his business probably would benefit from the ban, since the majority of his customers don't smoke. "Most patrons are going to be eating quicker and getting out, so more tables will be available," Ruiz said, noting that patrons would no longer be segregated by smoking and nonsmoking sections. "That's going to be a plus."