DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
To create a wall between two sections in Side Street Inn, drywall hanger Joelson Ea installed gypsum board over steel studs Friday. Side Street owner Colin Nishida said he doesn't understand how the smoking ban applies to his business as it isn't truly a restaurant.
Smoking ban Side Street Inn owner Colin Nishida is so upset at the new restaurant smoking ban that takes effect on Oahu next Monday that he is building a $5,000 wall to allow smoking in the bar area of his establishment for one more year.
divides eateries
Restaurants struggle to implement
the new law, starting July 1Facts about the smoking ban
By Craig Gima
cgima@starbulletin.com"The city shouldn't be interfering with how business is operated," Nishida said.
"I want Side Street to be my choice. I want people still to have a choice. They can have a choice of sitting and smoking, and sitting and nonsmoking."
But Aaron Clifton, a waiter at the Chart House restaurant in Waikiki, welcomes the new smoke-free environment.
"I grew up in a family with a lot of smokers and never liked it," he said.
"It does make a difference, especially over a long period of time. You can feel it in your lungs, and my eyes get irritated."
As the effective date of the smoking ban approaches, restaurants are struggling with the question of how to implement the law and wondering how it is going to affect business.
Supporters of the measure, meanwhile, are working on educating restaurants and patrons about the changes.
City Councilman Steve Holmes said, "We're changing a culture, and that takes time and certainly takes a good education."
Holmes is offering his office and staff to answer questions about the new law.
The state Health Department and the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii have developed a $66,000 television, radio and newspaper advertising campaign, which started over the weekend and will run throughout July. The money came from the state's settlement with tobacco companies.
A brochure explaining the new law has been sent to restaurants in Honolulu, and a seminar on implementing the law was held last week.
Brochures have also been printed in Japanese and a video is to be shown to tourists coming into Honolulu on flights from Japan, Holmes said.
Enforcement of the law falls on the city's Department of Planning and Permitting and the Honolulu Police Department.
Restaurants must post no-smoking signs. Failure to post signs can result in a $25 fine.
If someone smokes in a nonsmoking area, police will enforce the new ordinance in the same way they enforce other smoking laws, said police spokeswoman Michelle Yu.
Officers will respond if the complainant is willing to stay at the scene. If the officer arrives and the violator continues to smoke, the officer will warn the smoker that he or she can be cited. If the smoker still continues, he or she can be cited and face a $100 fine.
"We're hoping it won't come to that," Yu said.
Holmes said he believes people will obey the new law "not because we have smoking police everywhere (but) because they self-enforce."
He noted that after laws banning smoking in other workplaces and public areas, it is now common for people to go outside to smoke.
"Increasingly, everyone's going to realize that (no smoking in restaurants) is the norm," he said.
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What does the new law do? Smoking is banned in restaurants and the bar areas of restaurants beginning next Monday. Signs with lettering at least 1 inch high with the phrase "Smoking prohibited by law" must be posted in all areas where smoking is not allowed. Restaurants can also establish smoking areas in the bar areas of restaurants if the bar area has a separate ventilation system and if it is totally separated from the dining area of the restaurant by a floor-to-ceiling wall, which can have a door that must remain closed except when a person passes through. However, beginning July 1, 2003, separate bar areas of restaurants must also be smoke-free. Smoking is not permitted in food courts and food court seating areas. FACTS ABOUT THE SMOKING BAN
What about outdoor areas of restaurants?
Restaurants can establish smoking areas in outdoor areas if there is at least 10 feet of space from the outside wall of the indoor dining area, or if there is a solid floor-to-ceiling wall between the indoor and outdoor area.
Are bars not connected to a restaurant affected?
Nightclubs and bars where food sales account for less than one-third of alcoholic beverage sales are exempt from the no-smoking law.
Will the Liquor Commission enforce the law?
Liquor Commission investigators are not charged with enforcing the no-smoking law. However, "we're not going to ignore an infraction," said Liquor Commission Administrator Wallace Weatherwax. If inspectors see repeated violations of the law, they will report it to the city Department of Planning and Permitting.
What should I do if I have a question about the new law or see a violation?
City spokeswoman Carol Costa says Councilman Steve Holmes' office has offered to write a letter to businesses to inform them of the new law and to educate businesses about the smoking ordinance. His office number is 547-7002. You can also call the city's customer service department at 523-4381. The emphasis, at least for the first few months, will be on educating businesses rather than fining them. If you see someone smoking in a nonsmoking area, the city advises you to alert the manager of the establishment first and, as a last resort, police can be called.
