Smokers say impending ban in bars is a drag Smoke-Free Air Act scheduled to take effect in the spring BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff Smokers will take their last puff in public places on April 15 when the Smoke-Free Air Act takes effect in New Jersey. Patricia Woodrow is “leaving the state.” The Matawan resident is planning a move to North Carolina because she said it will be the last state in the union to ban smoking in bars and restaurants. “The state of New Jersey is taking my rights away,” Woodrow said while lighting up at The Office, a Keyport bar and restaurant. “Within six months I will leave the state.” Smokers in New Jersey are confronted by the impending fate of being denied their addiction in bars and restaurants, places that were previously safe havens for the increasingly unwelcome habit. Then-Gov. Richard Codey signed the Smoke-Free Air Act into law Jan. 15, banning smoking in public places such as bars, restaurants and bowling alleys, a move that some feel would relegate smokers to second-class patrons and is expected to put the hurt on small businesses. Karen Powell, the manager of the Court Jester on Route 34 in Aberdeen, is not entirely sure the new law will hurt their business in the long run, though. Smokers Anne Strozak and Nancy Barrett make the most of smoking indoors at the Court Jester in Aberdeen before the smoking ban kicks in on April 15. “It may affect us initially, but we will adjust,” she said. “Smokers will be upset, but more nonsmokers will come in.” However, patrons of that establishment have voiced disagreement with the law and said they are less likely to frequent their neighborhood bars. “I don’t agree with it whatsoever,” Joe Santoya, 22, of Toms River, said while smoking and drinking at the Jester. “When it is 20 degrees out, do I really want to go outside? I’ll get some buddies to go to my house. They are going to lose a lot of business.” Chris Gordon of Hazlet is concerned with how well the smaller bars will fare if they lose their regular clientele who smoke. “A lot of smaller bars with regulars that come in every day are going to get shut down,” Gordon said. The law is in large part meant to limit the amount of secondhand smoke that restaurant and bar employees are exposed to, an aspect that has support from the Court Jester’s staff, whether they smoke or not. “I think it’s great because it will promote a healthier work environment for employees,” Jessica Wolf, a server at the Jester and a nonsmoker, said. Another employee, Kyle Norek, said that it does not matter to him whether you can smoke inside or not. “I don’t see it being that much of a problem,” he said. “I go outside anyway.” The overwhelming concern by smokers and nonsmokers alike goes well beyond the matter of inconvenience, or even a matter of health. For many, it is what is not in the law that concerns them. Certain establishments are exempt from the new law, such as cigar bars and smoke shops that count at least 15 percent of their gross annual income from the on-site sale of tobacco products. The most controversial exemption is Atlantic City’s casino floors, where smoking will still be allowed, making them the only large-scale establishments in the state that can serve alcohol and permit smoking. Richard Anzivino, a telecommunications manager and smoker, has serious concerns about the casino exemption. “The hypo-crisy is allowing Atlantic City to have it on the casino floors,” Anzivino said. “You can’t dictate this across the board and decide that some companies are above that.” He cited the power of the casino lobby in Trenton as the reason they were allowed to be exempt from the law. “The key point is why it is okay to smoke in casinos in Atlantic City versus anywhere else,” Anzivino said. “It’s my mind that the lobbyists pay money to the people who make decisions.” Anzivino said that this is in essence a case of the squeaky wheel getting the oil in that those who argue the loudest are the ones who get the change. “There are certain folks against smoking,” Anzivino said. “They are the loudest people, and the elected officials kowtow to them.” Tom Schmierer of the New Jersey Restaurant Association (NJRA) said that this is much more than an economic or health issue. It is an issue of fairness and personal rights. “To exempt the casinos, the lawmakers accept a Pyrrhic victory, a hollow victory, and it will hurt a lot of bars,” Schmierer said. Schmierer said that even though the law has the potential to hurt his business, it is the double standard that bothers him. “To sign that bill shows the power they do not have,” Schmierer said. “It is a solution looking for a problem.” Schmierer believes that the law will, in fact, have a negative effect on many of the people it was set up to protect. “We are taking smokers and sending them to the casinos, where the seniors of New Jersey are going,” he said. Schmierer said that surrounding senior citizens with more smokers will affect the health of people at higher risk of health issues. He also worried about the employees of gaming tables who may be forced to be around added levels of smoke and unable to leave the area due to the nature of the job. Regina Carlson emphatically disagrees. As the executive director of the New Jersey Group Against Smoking Pollution (GASP), Carlson believes the new law is a landmark victory in the fight against secondhand smoke. “This is a powerful protection to the nonsmoking majority,” Carlson said. “It is licensed by the state, and the state has the right to set standards.” Carlson said that the effects of cigarette smoke are the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S., and secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of death. She insists that its total ban in public places is the only legitimate way to limit its effect on the smoking and nonsmoking public. “There is no safe level of smoking,” Carlson said. “It is a lethal, addictive carcinogenic product and it should have a skull and cross bones on it.” Carlson said she would not be willing to accept a compromise such as creating better smoking and nonsmoking sections and better ventilation systems. “Why should we accommodate suicide?” Carlson said. “We don’t have special lanes for people who drink and drive because it is unsafe.” The Smoke-Free Air Act is slated to go into effect 90 days after it was signed, which would coincide closely with the April 15 deadline to file taxes. John Rock, a smoker enjoying “happy hour” at the Steak Exchange in Hazlet, found that funny. “It will land on tax day,” Rock said. “So, they will take our money and our cigarettes.”