Although the Somerville Board of Aldermen has passed a resolution asking for reconsideration of the smoking ban in bars and restaurants, smokers should not light up just yet.
Somerville bars, restaurants, and workplaces have been smoke-free since Oct. 1, when the Board of Health passed the ordinance. The city became one of almost hundred municipalities in Massachusetts that have some form of the ban.
Last Thursday night, Rich DiGaralomio, a lawyer for the Somerville Bar and Restaurant Association, gave a presentation explaining the negative effects of the ban. "While the resolution may have an overriding public health concerns, we have issues with the day to day impact it has on our local business," DiGaralomio said. He said some restaurants had seen patronage fall as much as 40 percent in the past two months. Aldermen also claimed the ban had resulted in sanitary and noise violations by smokers outside eating establishments.
In response, the Aldermen unanimously passed a non-binding resolution asking the Board of Health to look into the effectiveness of the smoking ban. The Aldermen's action has no binding power because the regulation was not a city ordinance, but a directive passed by the Board of Health.
Somerville Health Department official Cesar Pungirum said while the board is interested in hearing the restaurateurs' comments, they believe the program has so far been a success.
"As far as we are concerned, the benefits of protecting public health outweigh any inconvenience" said Pungirum.
Pungirum was also unconvinced there was any significant economic effect from the legislation. He said informal conversations with restaurant owners have suggested the recent decreases in business could be due to other factors.
"Right after the World Series we noticed a downward turn but we could not tell whether it was because the World Series is over or because of some other factor," he said.
Further complicating the situation is current debate over the implementation of a state ban. The Massachusetts House of Representatives has already passed a bill with language similar to Somerville's. Republicans in the Senate have delayed the vote, but the bill is expected to pass this week. Differences between the bills might delay implementation until early next year.
The Board of Health said at Thursday's meeting it is expecting state workplaces and eating establishments to be smoke-free by next July. Restaurant and bar owners have used the impending ban as impetus to repeal the current legislation.
"We all recognize in the not too distant future we will see a statewide smoking ban," DiGaralomio. However, the communities that allow smoking right until the ban will to continue to attract new, loyal customers.
Boston, Cambridge, Medford and Chelsea already have banned smoking in restaurants, and Everett voted yesterday to pass a similar law. However, Malden and several others localities still allow smoking, prompting concerns.
"How do we know people won't start going out to a bar in Malden and won't return once the state ban is passed?" Alderman William Roche said.
While in favor of legislation, Somerville Mayor-elect and Alderman-at-large Joe Curtatone said the Board of Health should hold more discussion to determine what was causing the decrease in business.
"Somerville has built a good reputation as an entertainment center in the past five years," Curtatone said. "We wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize this important industry." He said cities like Boston and Cambridge were not concerned about the ban because they had larger commercial tax bases and are better able to handle any economic disadvantages.
Chairman of the Somerville Chamber of Commerce Stephen Mackey agrees. "We're hearing about the things we anticipated we thought would be issue," Mackey said. "It's had a real impact on businesses. It's affected the income of wait staff and there have been nuisances outside the establishment and complaints from the neighborhood." Although the Chamber was against the smoking ban, it has not been involved with this latest campaign.
There was some debate at the meeting over what language to use in the resolution. Alderman Paul Roche first proposed the Board of Health "consider rescinding the smoking ban." Several aldermen, including Curtatone, thought this language was biased, and the wording was changed to just "consider the smoking ban."
Pungirum said the Board of Health will address the aldermen's concerns at their next meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 11. Although no decisions have been made, Pungirum said Board of Health Director Jack Vondras was considering holding a public hearing.
All of the negotiation may prove to be unnecessary if business improves for local retailers.
Matt Wall of O'Sullivans Pub said he has not noticed any major change since the regulation went into effect.
"I was opposed to it before it was passed," he said. "But, as it is now I'm pretty happy about the ban."
Restaurants can be fined $50 for the first offense of the directive, $100 for the second, and can have their license to sell food suspended for two days after further violations. So far, there have been no violations reported, Pungirum said.
More from The Tufts Daily
