Business owners react to no-smoking proposal

So City Council held a hearing yesterday on a proposal to ban smoking in all Houston workplaces — yes, including bars and tobacco shops — and, not surprisingly, a lot of bar owners showed up to protest the idea, saying a full smoking ban would devastate their businesses.

"Draft an exception to allow bars to continue to operate and make the decision whether they want to be smoke-free or not," Philip Brinson, who owns three bars in Houston, urged council members.

Which is a nice idea and all, but one that's not likely to tickle the fancy of City Councilmembers who are basing the proposed full-on ban on a surgeon general's report about the dangers of secondhand smoke:

"Bar owners, they're just looking at the bottom line," [Councilwoman Carol] Alvarado said. "We have to stay focused as public officials as to why we're doing this: It's a health issue. It's the dangers of secondhand smoke."

To back up its position, the city is using a study from an independent consultant that shows Houston's partial smoking ban — which bars lighting up in restaurants — didn't have any effect on business. But the study also found that full smoking bans did affect business in bars and other non-restaurant establishments in other cities. One such business type, we imagine, is tobacco shops, where customers often light up to try before they buy. "If they end up banning it in cigar shops I'd probably just close," Michael McCoy, owner of McCoy's Fine Cigars downtown, told the Chronicle. "It's not like business is booming down here. You want to make it harder?"

According to the Chron, about 240 cities and towns in Texas have smoke-free ordinances, and Mayor Bill White is trying to get other cities on Houston's bandwagon. "Many of them are waiting for Houston to take the lead and then they would follow," Alvarado said. Or at least they'll follow if it's not too bad for business.