City Council may pass bill to stop smoking in restaurants

City Council members will be voting today on a controversial bill that would ban smoking in most Philadelphia restaurants. The bill, which was written by Councilman Michael Nutter, has already received preliminary Council approval. Mayor John Street said he would sign the bill if it gets the Council's full approval. Some local restaurant and bar owners fear their business will decrease if the bill passes. "We feel [a ban] would be unreasonable and unwarranted and would certainly affect our business since many of our clients are smokers," Mad 4 Mex manager David Drachman said. Nine out of the 17 Council members must ratify the bill in order for it to pass. Nutter originally proposed the smoking ban in May, but he agreed to postpone the final vote until health advocates could review the bill. In a press conference held last week, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Walter Tsou talked about the dangers of secondhand cigarette smoke and the effect it has on businesses. Tsou noted the harmfulness of secondhand smoke and pointed to a study that showed business increased in bars and restaurants in California after the state passed a similar bill. Nutter was forced to tone down his original version of the bill -- which endeavored to ban smoking within 20 feet of an establishment -- after area restaurant and bar owners voiced their displeasure with the proposal. "It's a violation of our civil liberties to deny something that's perfectly legal to our clients," Drachman said. Flo Mayes, the manager of Nan Restaurant said that "it's usually businesses that serve alcohol" that are more concerned with catering to smokers. She feels dry establishments like Nan will not be affected by a smoking ban. In its current form, the bill allows smoking in restaurants that have fully enclosed smoking lounges or bars, those with clearly separated smoking and nonsmoking sections and outdoor cafes. Smoking would also be allowed in bars, which are defined under the bill as establishments in which alcohol accounts for more than 60 percent of sales. David Bonsick, executive vice president of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, said Nutter's changes have "not made [the bill] more palatable," to his organization, which represents the interests of Pennsylvania restaurant owners. "We fear the economic impact [the bill] will have on our restaurants," he said. Bonsick pointed to an Auburn University study of the smoking ban in Boston that -- unlike the study Tsou quoted -- showed that restaurants actually lost over $40 million in sales after the ban. "We believe we're certainly stringent enough" about enforcing regulations, Bonsick said. "Our livelihood is providing restaurant patrons with good service, service that suits their need, and they should have the opportunity to smoke, with some restrictions -- but those that we've been abiding by."