Lawmaker wants smoking banned in bars, restaurants

Bars and restaurants - the last public facilities to permit smoking - may lose that designation if a state lawmaker has his way.

State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, a Montgomery County Republican, proposed a bill late last month designed to make those establishments smoke free.

Pennsylvania's existing Clean Air Act bans smoking in all workplaces except restaurants and bars. Establishments with more than 75 seats must have nonsmoking sections.

Seven states - California, Delaware, New York, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island - have banned smoking in bars, restaurants or both.

The American Heart Association estimates that a smoking ban could save 57,600 in Pennsylvania by ensuring clean indoor air in these establishments and drastically reducing the number of smokers.

Second-hand smoke - the fumes exhaled by smokers and inhaled by others in the vicinity - is the third leading preventable cause of death in both the state and the nation, according to the American Lung Association.

"Secondary smoke is poisonous," Greenleaf said. "This is a workplace, and we're forcing people to be exposed to this eight to 10 hours a day."

But Ryan Skibicki, assistant general manager at Redd Dawg's All Star Clubhouse in Rostraver Township, said smoking and drinking go hand-in-hand.

"A lot of people like to smoke when they drink," Skibicki said. "Most people smoke more when they drink. Some say it brings out the flavor."

Asked how much a ban on smoking would affect his business, Skibicki replied, "It won't help."

Wayne Foulks, co-owner of Felicia's Restaurant and Lounge in Monessen, said he worked in New York when a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants was enacted.

"I think it would affect the bar people who come in and want to have a cigarette and a beer," Foulks said. "I don't think it will hurt the dining room."

Speers Street Grill in Belle Vernon, recently made the decision to become smoke free.

Supervisor Niki Fafalious said the restaurant had few customers who smoke. The smoking room was not widely used because nonsmokers did not want to use it.

The owner, Joe Pappalardo, also noted a nationwide trend in which restaurants are going smoke-free.

"He said, 'New York and California have it; we're going to have it too,'" Fafalious said of Pappalardo.

Speers Street Grill had a couple of complaints early, but the customers now understand, she said. She noted that Speers Street Grill does not have a bar atmosphere.

"For the most part, the smokers understand and they have continued to come here," Fafalious said.