Michigan businesses forced to go smoke-free seeing positive results

More than three years after Michigan’s Smoke Free Air Law went into effect, bar and restaurant owners around Metro Detroit — and their customers — have adapted to the new policy.

While many restaurateurs concede business suffered initially after the law became effective in May 2010, the results have been mostly positive since. Prohibiting smoking in most public places has meant cleaner walls and vents, a more diverse clientele and a healthier environment for customers and employees alike.

“I think a lot of businesses have acclimated,” said Justin Winslow, vice president for government affairs at the Lansing-based Michigan Restaurant Association. “There was a recalibration that was difficult for some smaller bars. There was certainly a culture change that people had to adjust to.”Dunhill cigarettes online.

Studies about the economic impact of the law differ in their findings. A 2010 study from the Michigan Department of Treasury reported the ban “may have reduced the activity at taverns that serve liquor,” while a study two years later by University of Michigan researchers found “bars and restaurants as a whole were not adversely affected.”

Some restaurant owners said they’ve seen an uptick in business.

“Business has nearly tripled,” said Felix Landrum, owner of Cafe Felix in Ann Arbor. “Our clientele has thrived without cigarettes.”

Before the law took effect, his French bistro was often frequented by transplant Europeans who enjoyed a cigarette with their drinks, creating a smoky atmosphere. “We’d have to wash the walls. Your hair and clothes would stink,” he said.

Now, his clientele has expanded. The regulars have stayed and smoke in designated areas outside, and new nonsmokers have filled the void of customers who stopped dining there, Felix said.

Despite the acceptance among many business owners, the law continues to have its opponents, including the Michigan Restaurant Association and the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association.

“This remains an issue and it will until we get some sort of change,” said Scott Ellis, executive director of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association. He said the group that represents the state’s bar and tavern owners still opposes the ban.

Ellis said he feels the law was pushed through for political reasons and has crippled some small bar owners. He said the organization would like to see the law amended to allow owners to apply for a smoking license on a case-by-case basis.

The Michigan Restaurant Association didn’t support the ban either, but Winslow said it’s “no longer an issue” anyone in the organization is pursuing.

“The culture in Michigan has acclimated,” he said. “I don’t believe it’s been as bad as some may have thought it was.”

The number of citations issued by the Michigan Department of Community Health for smoking violations in food establishments dropped from 101 in 2010 to 85 in 2011. Among non-food establishments, which include bars, the citations fell from 16 to five. Numbers from 2012 won’t be available until October.

Penalties for violating the smoke-free law include fines of $100 for a first offense and up to $500 for a second offense, according to the Department of Community Health.

“Very rarely do we have an issue that we can’t resolve,” said Angela Minicuci, public information officer for the DCH. “It’s been generally well-received.”

Jennifer Clotworthy, general manager of Rosie O’Grady’s in Ferndale, said the law hurt business, but not significantly.

“It affected sales, but like a tattoo, you forget about the pain,” she said. “Now that we’re three years out from it, we can’t believe people were ever smoking in the building. It was a horrible thing to be locked in a room full of smoke.”

The Anchor Bar in downtown Detroit lost a lot of regular customers as a result of the law, said owner Vaughn Derderian.

“When you inconvenience their smoking, you inconvenience their drinking,” he said.

But Derderian said the good outweighs the bad in this case, as the bar’s environment has changed.

“They’d create a smoke room where hams could get cured in an hour or two,” he joked. “Now, it’s a whole lot better place to work.”