It was almost a month ago Montana went smoke free as on October 1st, smoking was no longer allowed in bars and casinos, in accordance with the Clean Indoor Air Act. They were the last businesses in Montana to go smoke free after a law was enacted in 2005, and they spent months getting ready to go smoke-free.
Some businesses have seen their worst fears have come true. Kelly Dunn, a bartender at 'That Bar' in Great Falls, says there are few customers to serve. She said, "Normally by this time of day, I've got probably ten to 12 people lined up at this bar and right now as it stands I have two in here."
Customers aren't staying as long or drinking as much, and Dunn added that the regulars would rather drink at home than deal with smoking in the cold.
She continued, "My biggest fear was losing a lot of our regular customers and by the looks of it that's happening, and it's sad because we had a lot of good times in this bar."
But Brick Sports Bar employee Michelle Gravlin has a different story to tell, noting, "It's gone fine. We haven't had any big changes."
Business at the Brick hasn't changed, and some heavy-duty cleaning and the new law have helped get rid of the smell of smoke according to Gravlin. "I have had people say that it's nice to be able to come and not go home smelling like an ashtray."
"It's really exciting to know we can walk into any establishment and breathe that clean air when we walk in," commented Kate Marone with the Cascade City-County Health Department.
The department worked with businesses before the law went into effect to help them understand the changes, and Marone says that only a few businesses in Cascade County have had valid complaints about smoking. "We'll go ahead and contact that establishment and just talk to them and verbally explain to them about the law," she explained.
There have only been a couple dozen complaints across Montana since the ban went into effect. At the Brick, the few people who accidentally light up inside are reminded about the new law. Gravlin noted, "They will go outside, have their cigarette and come back in."
Some businesses have even created covered outdoor "smoking shacks" to accommodate smokers (read story).
But that trip outside is already prompting many smokers to cut back. "You know smoking is a bad proposition," said smoker James Mesler. "It's going to kill me. I've been smoking 55 years. I'm going to die of lung cancer. But I'll tell you what. Now that I can't smoke in the casinos anymore, I'm smoking a lot less."
"I feel like a second class citizen," said fellow smoker Angel Ramsey. "I feel that we have been shoved to the wayside and we as Americans did not get to vote on the topic at all. It went straight to the legislature and was pushed through."
Some feel those who pushed the law should be doing more now. At That Bar, business is considerably down and promotions haven't been successful according to Dunn: "If non-smokers want non-smoking in the bars, they have to step up and start coming in these bars now that it is non-smoking and help these bar owners out with business. Otherwise a lot of them are going to wind up closing their doors."
The most recent state survey found support is growing for the Clean Indoor Air Act with support for smoke-free bars and casinos growing from 62% in 2005 to 75% in 2008.
