Bars could get break on ban...

G

Guest

Bill would exempt pubs from state anti-smoking law..

Rocky Mountain News
January 24, 2007

Patrons of mom-and-pop bars will be lighting up again if one state lawmaker gets her way. In exchange, the watering holes would pay an extra $500 for their liquor licenses - half of which would go to the state and half to local governments to help offset the costs of smoking.

Milking the Tobacco Cash Cow
 
From the article:

Pete Bialick, director of GASP of Colorado, a nonprofit organization that promotes smoke-free policies. "It's a public health issue. It's about protecting workers."

Where is he getting this information? As I've said many a time before, that EPA data is not valid and federally ruled so way back '98. I looked at the GASP of Colorado website and they are using the EPA '93 report as the foundation of their argument.

"I'm a small place that holds up to 50 people, and half my customers aren't coming in," Godfrey said. "I haven't gotten new people like they said we would. I don't know how much longer I can hold on." ...The survey also found that 29 neighborhood bars in the metro area have gone out of business and telephones at another 30 bars have been disconnected.

Prepare to be hearing that a lot more in the not too distant future....
 
Somewhat off topic, but a Canadian friend said (17) Windsor, Ontario Bars have closed since the smoking ban went into place there. Many also went belly-up due to the state controled bar liquor and beer prices. As I said in an earlier post, I went to a bar in Windsor a couple of months ago, with my bud. American Beer cost $6.50 per bottle (Canadian). Bar owner said it was due to the state controled prices, and the beer being "imported', from the U.S. In Canada, one must go to a state controled outlet to buy booze and beer, (other than the U.S. - Canadian border duty-free). Smokes are (retail) $10.50 (Canadian) per pack, (other than the duty free). One sees tons of Ontario, Canada license plates at many Michigan retail outlets.