One of my favorite movies is “Ben-Hur.” I’m a sucker for big biblical movies. They’re really long, big orchestration, great actors, and the stories seems to have made an impact on a few
people for a couple thousand years. Ben-Hur features Charleton Heston in all his bombastic glory, exposing his taut, tan chest as he valiantly struggles through the cruelty of the Romans. Remember the scenes on the boat when the musclebound Roman guard is pounding that drum to make all the slaves row faster? Remember the horse race? Remember when his mother and sister are afflicted with leprosy and they have to hide in the caves so no one can see them? Replace lepers with smokers. Replace the caves with the enclosed smoking room in every bar in the Twin Cities and you have the 2004 version of a scene in Ben-Hur. Charleton Heston conquered the Romans. I am not sure he could conquer the lawmakers in this state.
The issue of smoking in restaurants and nightclubs has been around the Twin Cities for a long time. It is now at a point that the issue has gone past idle chatter into actual legislation that could ban smoking in bars and restaurants very soon. As usual, I am cursed with seeing many sides of the argument. However, some points stick with me longer as just plain common sense.
I am not a smoker. I’ve never been one. The actual act of smoking is such a strange and twisted exercise that I could never get too excited about trying. My parents smoked. Nearly all my siblings smoked at one time. A large portion of my friends smoked, some still do. My chosen profession of performing in bars puts me, quite literally, in the thick of secondhand smoke regularly. I suppose I am one of the people that the advocates of the smoking ban focus on as a silent suffering victim of smoke filled air. I equate their concern for my health in the same way I appreciate the concern of so many strangers sending me E-mail’s wanting to increase my sexual success rate with size and staying power. Your concern is unwanted and unnecessary. I am an adult. I can make my own choices and deal with the consequences of those choices. Thanks, but no thanks.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I am not a fan of smoking. It stuns me that after all the years of warnings and the obvious physical danger of smoking, people, especially teenagers, still want to smoke. I don’t blame it on Hollywood or peer pressure. I blame it on boredom, low self esteem and parents and/or guardians who are being less than attentive to their child, or aren’t there at all. I am hopeful that in 50 years, the amount of people who smoke will dwindle down to nearly nothing. Let’s do everything we can discourage the practice of smoking to the children of today and the future.
Hoping for the decline of smoking is one thing. Advocating a movement that wants to legally force a private business to dramatically change what happens inside their establishment is something entirely different.
Most of the time I feel like the smoking ban in bars is inevitable, so why fight it? I must admit that the longer I perform in clubs the more I enjoy performing in a smoke-free atmosphere. But there is the other side of the argument. Recently, Sidney’s Restaurants focused on a smoke-free environment for bands. It’s been a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, when I played there, it was very slow. That could very easily be blamed on me, but it could also be blamed on the fact that people know they are not welcome to watch the band and smoke at the same time. I admire Sidney’s smoke-free initiative. Sidney’s is owned by a larger management company, so they can afford to experiment. The point is, a private business made the decision to do this, not the government who is being lobbied night and day by advocates of the smoking ban.
A larger chain restaurant will not suffer considerably if the smoking ban passes. Their menus are diverse and they have solid financial support. The strongest impact will be on Mom-and-Pop bars and the nightclubs that feature live music. These places pay taxes and provide a living for thousands of people. Should the opinion of a few lawmakers dictate the fate of every bar and restaurant in the state? Shouldn’t something this big at least be voted on by the public?
One compromise which was presented in St. Paul was to force bars and restaurants to build a specific smoking area either inside or outside the establishment. The servers working at that establishment could not serve the patrons smoking in the smoking area. This is one of those things that is so absurd it scares me — especially because it actually makes sense to people in power. In my long history of playing in bars, it seems the overwhelming majority of servers smoke themselves. I hope they all quit someday, but that is not my call to make. If they still smoke, what is the point of trying to “protect” them from secondhand smoke by telling them they can’t serve their customers in the smoking area?
Further, am I alone in thinking that people smell worse after they smoke than when they smoke right in front of you? Imagine a whole group of people smelling like that around you when you watch a band in the nonsmoking establishment. I would rather someone smoke right in front me than to smell someone who just emerged from the smoking cavern advocated by the state. Why would a restaurant or bar want to treat their customers like circus freaks in a “cage” that the “normal” people stare at? Where’s the fun in that? There has to be a better answer than this.
If you smoke for a long time, I firmly believe it could eventually kill you in a most unpleasant way. I urge anybody who smokes to stop as soon as you can. But I would never assume that I could force anyone to stop smoking. It’s like telling an alcoholic to stop drinking. The decision to quit is squarely on the person doing it, no one else. It concerns me greatly that a law might be passed due to the popular theory (and I stress, it’s still a theory) of the dangers of secondhand smoke. Do we need the smoking ban to become a law, or is it better to let the individual businesses, employees and customers decide their fate?
There is not a bar or restaurant in the Twin Cities that
forces anybody to walk through their doors. They do not force people to work there. Each band that performs at these clubs clearly understands that it is their choice to play or not play in a place that allows smoking. I know plenty of people, some in my own family, who don’t come to watch me play in a club that allows smoking because they don’t want to smell like smoke, or be around people who do smoke. They wait until I’m playing at a smoke-free venue or outdoor event and they come see me there. I know singers and musicians who won’t play in bars because of the smoke. I get that and I respect it.
I am not fearful of smokers. I don’t think they have a
vendetta to slowly kill me. Being around secondhand smoke will not kill me. I wish people would stop smoking. Some will, some won’t. But treating them like second class citizens, or shaming them into not smoking is not the right way to proceed.
Both sides are adamant that they are right. As with any agreement, both sides have to give a little to come to a
resolution. Here are some ideas. Let’s explore better ventilation systems in all bars. Cigarettes are about $50 a pack now in bars, aren’t they? Maybe eliminating the selling of cigarettes at bars and restaurants would be helpful. Maybe
bars can volunteer to have a smoke-free environment for part of the week (smoke-free everyday before 8pm? or smoke-free Monday through Wednesday?) for 12 months to see how their business is affected. In return, the city and/or state could offer tax relief to each bar and restaurant in the Twin Cities for the same time period to help these businesses keep their doors open. There are other options. Lets work this out.
I have faith that the bars and restaurants will adjust their
ways to suit their customers. I also have faith that if there
are less bands available to play places that allow smoking,
the bars will adjust their methods to suit that as well. Let
the market decide. If you don’t want to enter a bar that
allows smoking, you play a role in the market deciding. You can support places like Sidney’s who have made a conscious effort to provide a nonsmoking environment. Believe me, if more people begin frequenting nonsmoking bars than smoking bars, other smoking bars (and bands) will follow suit.
The bottom line is, as a musician or an employee, playing, bartending or waiting tables at a bar that allows smoking should be a choice that the individual makes. Patronizing an establishment that allows smoking should be a choice that each customer makes. A law is not necessary. Forcing this potential law on privately owned businesses and their customers is truly the definition of the “slippery slope.” It is reasonable to assume that the next step will be banning smoking in your car, or your home. Do you really want lawmakers to have that kind of control over your private life? This issue has gotten this far, and it won’t go away. The only fair thing is for the people of the state to vote on this. If the majority wants to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, then a state-wide referendum will at least ensure that the people – not just the politicians – have spoken.
At some point, personal responsibility for your own choices has to come into play. My advice is don’t start smoking. If you smoke now, do what you can to stop. It’s a disgusting habit that is incredibly hard to break and it’s really bad for you. But it’s up to you to stop, to start, to go to a club with smoking, or not to. Neither a law nor a lot of hand-wringing is necessary. It could be that simple.
