Starting May 5, 2003, all Boston workplaces will be smoke-free, per a new regulation passed last month by the Boston Public Health Commission.
The new law was enacted ‘to protect the health of all the workers in Boston from the dangers of second hand smoke,’ according to BPHC spokesperson Kristin O’Connor.
Many city restaurants and bars are anticipating the upcoming date, but remain unsure of its consequences on their business.
‘We’re just waiting to see,’ said Joe Sousa, general manager of the Cactus Club Restaurant and Bar on Boylston Street. ‘You just kind of have to wait and see until it’s done.’
The rule could detract from his business, forcing smokers outside, he said.
‘I think that it will definitely make running the business a little tougher,’ he said. ‘It will have the people out on the street sides smoking cigarettes, with butts everywhere.’
Sousa said he understands the rationale behind the new regulation, but believes it would have been more appropriate with the exclusion of bars.
‘I don’t feel that it is fair to have employees exposed to smoke if they really don’t want to,’ he said. ‘In the dining room I can understand, [but] I think in the bars themselves they should be able to smoke.’
Sousa also said he does not plan to see a large decrease in the number of customers who come to his restaurant.
‘As long as everyone’s on the same playing field I am fine with it,’ he said.
While bars and restaurants will feel the brunt of the new regulation, the act was created to make all workplaces smoke-free.
‘The regulation bans smoking in all workplaces in Boston,’ O’Connor said. ‘Any place that people work would be included, bars, restaurants, clubs universities would be included in that.’
The regulation will be enacted citywide, in the hopes that neighboring communities will follow the city’s lead.
‘Because this is going to be enacted across the city of Boston we hope that there won’t be any negative impact,’ O’Connor said. ‘Other studies have shown that where other bans have been put into place they haven’t seen any loss of revenue.’
Sousa said he worried that the bars themselves would be looked at as the ones responsible for the new regulation, and believes it will be difficult for the city to enforce this law because it will be the responsibility of the bar to tell customers not to light up.
‘People who have bars will have to police [smoking violations] for the city,’ he said. ‘We’re the ones that are going to end up looking like the bad guys.’
Sousa also said he hopes out-of-state visitors will not be deterred from visiting a state with the regulation.
All businesses, regardless of what they sell, will have to adhere to this new regulation, according to O’Connor. Businesses not complying will face fines up to $1,000. The only businesses exempt from the law include those which make at least 60 percent of their revenue from the sale of tobacco, according to O’Connor.
While this regulation is sweeping, it is not entirely new. Smoking has been banned in Boston restaurants since 1998, according to O’Connor, making this an amendment to an already established idea.
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