BLUFF SIDING, Wis. -- Big, black ashtrays line the bar at George's Lounge here, and owner Tim Pronschinske says business is up since a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants took effect across the Mississippi River in Minnesota.
"I've heard from customers that they're not happy" with Minnesota's ban, which began Oct. 1, he says. "We're fighting it in Wisconsin. Most people know that if you go to a bar, there will be smoking. It should be our choice whether we allow it or not."
Across the bridge in Winona, Minn., a shiny silver bucket filled with cigarette butts stands outside Ed's 500 Club. Inside, bartender Brandon Ehlenfeldt says loyal customers still patronize the neighborhood bar, but the ban has "affected every business."
Mackenzie Linander, a bartender at Steiny's Bar down the street, says "business has slowed down" since the ban. "Wisconsin is right across the river, so I think that's where people are going," she says.
If Gov. Jim Doyle and other smoking opponents have their way, Wisconsin won't be a haven for smokers much longer. This past week, the governor urged the Legislature to pass a bill that would outlaw smoking in workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
If the state doesn't act, Doyle said, Minnesota's ban and one that takes effect Jan. 1 in neighboring Illinois could make Wisconsin "the ashtray of the upper Midwest."
Health and business
According to the American Lung Association, 20.9% of American adults were smokers in 2005, down from 42.4% in 1965. In 2006, 20.8% of Wisconsin adults were smokers.
The debate here, like those in the 22 states and scores of cities and counties that have ended or will soon end smoking in bars and restaurants, is an emotional one that focuses on health, economics and the rights of smokers and business owners.
The Tavern League of Wisconsin, which represents 5,200 mostly small businesses, opposes a ban. "Whether we like smoking or not isn't the point," spokesman Scott Stenger says. "These are small businesses whose livelihoods depend on keeping their customers." Restricting smoking to adults-only bar areas would be reasonable middle ground, he says.
Wisconsin state Sen. Roger Breske, a Democrat and former Tavern League president, says small rural bars should be exempt from a ban. "To me, this really isn't about smoking at all," he says. "It's about small businesses." Changing smoking policies would "shut some down completely," he says.
Scott Adams, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, studied the impact of smoking bans on employment in states and communities that enacted them from 2000 to 2004. The loss of jobs at restaurants, especially in warm climates, was modest, he says, but "for bars, the effects are negative and persistent."
Supporters of smoke-free laws say studies show minimal impact in communities that enact them. According to Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, such regulations don't harm restaurant or bar revenue and reduce employers' medical costs.
Wisconsin Senate President Fred Risser, a Democrat who sponsored the smoking ban legislation, says most bars and restaurants in Madison reported increased business when they went smoke-free in 2005. "If you put it to a (statewide) referendum," he says, "there's no question that it would pass." Madison is among 33 Wisconsin cities and counties that limit smoking.
Aaron Doeppers, Midwest director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, says the health risks of smoking preclude compromise and notes that the Wisconsin Restaurant Association supports a ban. "Secondhand smoke causes cancer and heart disease," he says. "It is time for this legislation to pass. ... This issue is past its tipping point."
Not in the bars of Bluff Siding.
Smoking and drinking
Mary Martin, owner of Mary Moe's Bar & Grill, is a smoker who hasn't been in a Minnesota bar since the ban. "If you don't like smoke, don't go to a bar," she says. "If you don't like smoke, don't get a job in a bar."
Claire Ratajczek, a bartender at George's Lounge, says smoking is "a big deal. It goes hand in hand with drinking."
Martin Allen, a salesman from St. Louis, learned about Minnesota's ban when he stopped at a Winona bar. He left and drove across the river to have a beer -- and a smoke -- here. "I'm not a child," he says. "I don't need the government telling me what I can do. I pay plenty of taxes on cigarettes, and I don't see them turning that money down because they disapprove of smoking."
Chuck Jessen, who lives in Winona but occasionally visits Wisconsin taverns, has a different view. "It's wonderful to go into a bar and not have to smell that smoke," he says. "If I go into a really, really smoky bar, I will leave. It just bugs me."
The Jefferson Pub & Grill in Winona has plenty of customers who share Jessen's opinion. Manager Scott Peplinski says it implemented a smoking ban last summer, months before the state law took effect, so smokers could get used to puffing outside while temperatures were warm.
"Sales haven't gone down," says Peplinski, a smoker who has to retreat outdoors to have a cigarette even at home. "Maybe customers don't stay as long. I've had a lot of people say they're glad they don't have to put up with the smoke."
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