The Morning Blend
Welcome
Complete Media Kit
Herald/Review
TOMBSTONE — An attorney for the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association said Monday that the Smoke-Free Arizona law is relatively lenient with respect to its definition of a “patio.”
“I think they’ve actually given a lot,” said Don Isaacson, who has been the ALBA lawyer and lobbyist since 1985.
Last November, Arizona voters approved Proposition 201, which established a statewide prohibition in public places and places of employment effective May 1. The new law also imposed a 2-cents tax per cigarette package.
|
|
The Arizona Department of Health Services Web site defines a patio as an outside structure with at least one open side or ceiling. That open side may be made “permeable” material such as tent cloth, bars or a wall of up to a 3-foot height. “They’re going to call that a patio, and what that does is allow you to serve and smoke there,” the attorney said.
As the effective date approaches, restaurants, bars and hotels are concerned about the impact of the new law on their business and clientele. A number of Southeastern Arizona bar owners attended an ALBA regional question-and-answer session Monday at the American Legion Post 24 in Tombstone, with the director and assistant director of the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control present.
Locally, the Cochise County Health Department will be responsible for enforcing the Smoke-Free Arizona law, and Isaacson suggested contacting that department, as businesses prepare to apply the new smoking rules, to find out how exactly the methods of enforcement are to be anticipated throughout Cochise County.
“We are not the Health Department,” clarified the Liquor Department Chairman Jerry Oliver. Arizona Revised Statute, Title 4, however, gives the Liquor Department enforcement auditing and licensing power with respect to structures and their curtilage in which liquor is sold, Oliver said.
Because it will still be OK to smoke on patios that are less than 20 feet from an establishment’s thresholds — provided that smoke from them does not drift inside, ALBA President Bill Weigele said there may be individual municipal efforts in the future to restrict smoking on patios.
Considering that potential for “patchwork” ordinances in the future, “don’t invest your kids’ money on patios if you don’t have to,” Weigele said.
Weigele said he does not expect, as was the case when cities such as Prescott and Tempe implemented public-smoking bans, for any establishments to go out of business because the jurisdiction of this law is uniform throughout Arizona. “Tempe was an island, Prescott was an island,” he said. “People might disagree, but people won’t go out of business.”
It is a violation if official no-smoking signs are not posted and readable from outside a place which serves alcoholic beverages.
“I personally think it’s going to be a ripple. It’s not going to be the end of the world,” Weigele said. “I think they’re going to stay with you. Be as good as you can at accommodating them.”
And bar owners may find themselves with a new stripe of clientele, when the smoke clears, he said.
Many representatives of service clubs such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the American Legion attended Monday’s session, as well as those representing establishments licensed for alcohol sales to the general public.
Smoking is allowed in veterans’ and fraternal clubs, but only when they are not open to the general public, per the Smoke-Free Arizona law.
And where there is no patio, smokers must smoke at least 20 feet from the establishment’s threshold, or closer if there is some method employed to keep smoke out of the walkway and the entrance, Weigele said.
“Now, an employee can got out to the patio and smoke just like anyone else,” he said. “At your door, you’ve got to keep smoke from coming in. You are only responsible for the areas which you control, i.e., premise.”
If someone comes in, complains and won’t put out their smoking materials, ALBA advises the manager or owner listen calmly, then explain that the rule is to protect the health of the other patrons and employees. If staff feels threatened in any way, it is advised police be called, whom will issue a petty citation, which calls for a fine if a peace officer observes someone in violation of the Smoke-Free Arizona law.
It is a violation if ashtrays are found in an establishment, and there is evidence they were used in non-smoking areas, but such is not the case if the ashtrays are just being washed, for example.
If there is any gray area of interpretation or any incident, ALBA advises that just like with liquor issues, a log book be created by bar staff for incidents related to any and all possible smoking infractions that happen at an establishment — to provide the establishment with oversight for any subsequent law-enforcement procedures.
ALBA was founded in 1936, as the first trade organization in Arizona; its mission is to protect liquor licensees against unfair legislation and provide legal and political assistance to its members.
For more information about ALBA, go online to www.albainc.org.
For more information about the Smoke-Free Arizona law, effective May 1, log onto www.smokefreearizona.org.
For more information about the Liquor Department, log onto www.azliquor.gov.
Herald/Review reporter Gentry Braswell can be reached at 515-4680 or by e-mail at gentry.braswell@svherald.com.
Bill Stein wrote on Nov 22, 2008 7:45 PM: