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Smoking Ban - Fair or Foul?

By: Dan Buglio, Fri Dec 9th, 2005 11:48:09 PM

h3>Smoking Bans - Fair or Foul?  
By Dan Buglio, June - 2005

City halls and town councils are packed with people arguing both sides of this heated debate.  Should we ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places or not?   I pose this question:  Did the government intervene because every bar and restaurant has state of the art smo ke eater technology installed - providing a comfortable, safe and odor free dining or drinking experience?  I doubt it. 

I may not make any friends here, but I say that it is the very same bar and restaurant owners who cry about the smoking bans putting  them out of business that actually brought the smoking bans upon themselves.  For those of you who have invested in the right smo ke eater technology, my apologies.  But look around.  Most bars, night clubs and restaurants haven't done enough... or anything at all.  Why not?  Don't these owners realize it's their health too?  Bartenders and owners working in a smoky bar are 50% more likely to develop lung cancer than those working in a smoke free environment.  Yes, 50% more likely!

I don't smoke.  Never have, never will.  I hate the stuff.  But in spite of that, I feel that a bar or restaurant  has a right to allow smoking in their privately owned business.  The customer also has a right to not be a patron.  It's a free country, do as you wish.  Unfortunately, our government feels they need to get involved to protect the staff and customers because the bar owners haven't.  

So what should we do about smoking in bars, night clubs and restaurants?  My vote is that it should be up to the owner of the establishment to decide.  If allowing smoking causes a bar or restaurant to gain or lose business, that is their choice.  Many people argue in favor of the health of the bartenders and wait staff.  Shouldn't they be provided a safe place to work?  Again, it's a matter of choice.  If you don't want to work in a smoky bar, don't work there or push your management to get some quality smo ke eaters.  As a customer, if you don't want to eat in a smoky restaurant, don't eat there.  There are plenty of alternatives.  Simple right?

To the owners who cry foul when their city or town bans smoking, what are you waiting for?  As the owner of a company selling air purifiers, air cleaners and smo ke eaters, I speak to hundreds of bar and restaurant owners about their smoke problems each year.  Most have smo ke eaters that are either 20 years old and poorly maintained or they have nothing at all.  Then when they find out what it takes to really get rid of the smoke, many claim "it's too expensive" and don't do anything.  6 months later, I follow up and they still haven't done anything.  What's the excuse?  They have none.

What drives me crazy is that smo ke removal isn't rocket science.  Maybe people don't realize that there is technology available to handle smoke.  For those who feel that bars have always been smoky and that's just the way it is, here's how it works:  To get rid of smoke, you simply need to invest in some com mercial smoke eaters.  Equipment that will effectively filter out the majority of the fine microscopic smoke particles.  Filtration only solves half the problem.  You then need to get rid of the harmful gases, fumes and odors from cigarettes.  Commercial HVA C UV air purifiers have really improved to the point that an odor ridden smoky bar is no longer a necessity.  You CAN have a nearly smoke free environment...if you are willing to spend the money on some quality com mercial smoke eaters.  

When it comes to cost, many fail to realize is that a good smo ke removal system will pay for itself in short order.  Think about it, if just 4 patrons stay an hour longer than normal, spending an extra $10 each, that's $40 bucks a day in increased revenue.  Do the math, that's $14,600 a year in extra revenue.  With the markup on beer and liquor, the investment in state of the art smo ke eater  technology will likely pay for itself inside of 6-9 months through increased revenue.  Hype it up with customers and local media and you can easily recoup your investment even quicker.

To wrap it up:  For those customers who patronize a smoky bar or restaurant, tell them to do something about the smoke or you'll take your business elsewhere.  For you bar and restaurant owners out there?  What are you waiting for?  Wait much longer and the governments will surely ban smoking and you will just have to find out for yourself what it will do to your business and your bottom line. Act now before it's too late.  Invite your local politician into your new clean air establishment.  Show them what can be done to provide a healthy and comfortable dining or drinking experience.  Perhaps it's not too late.

About the author: Dan Buglio is the owner of My Air Purifier, a business that sells air purifiers, air cleaners and smo ke eaters for homes and businesses. 

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