Jan Zarkin, proprietor of Rembrandt's Restaurant and Bar, is fervently opposed to smoking.
But since he recently completed a $2 million renovation of his restaurant that created separate bars and air filters for his smoking and non-smoking sections, he is just as opposed to the pending Philadelphia smoking ban.
Fortunately for Zarkin -- and other Philadelphians who oppose the ban -- City Council has not touched the Clean Indoor Air Worker Protection Law since May.
City Councilman Michael Nutter, the main sponsor of the ban, said last month that the bill would likely pass by the end of this year.
But now, although the new year is little over a month away, Nutter reports no progress on the bill, and opponents are glad to hear it.
"There is no update," Nutter said. "We have a bill. ... It is not up for vote."
Zarkin said his opposition to the ban is not financial in nature.
"We do fine here, smoking or nonsmoking," Zarkin said. "I just don't want to send people out on the sidewalk in the middle of winter, in the middle of a rainstorm, just to have a smoke."
He added that since he has instituted separate smoking and nonsmoking bars, secondhand smoke does not affect his restaurant.
But for venues that do not provide separate sections, the ban holds more appeal.
College sophomore Kate Davis said she suffered greatly from secondhand smoke while working as a waitress in a smoking restaurant.
"I would just go home and I would feel physically sick," Davis said. "I would feel nauseous, my eyes would tear, my nose would run."
But Davis is also a smoker, and said she would still like the privilege of smoking in bars.
Wales Wilson, a manager at Fork restaurant in Old City, said the effect that the ban will have on a restaurant depends on its current smoking policy.
Since Fork only allows smoking after 10:30 p.m. on weekdays and after 11:30 p.m. on weekends, Wilson said the ban will not likely impact its clientele.
Nicholas Elmi, general manager of Loie Brasserie and Bar in Center City, agreed with Wilson, though his restaurant has a smoking bar.
"People don't go out to smoke, people go out to drink," Elmi said.
Yet City Council is not so sure.
Currently, the ban is sitting in City Hall because its proponents in City Council cannot agree with Mayor John Street on several key issues, one of them being the potential financial blow to the city.
Zarkin said he has spoken with both Nutter and Street to discuss the legislation but that he would rather see it remain untouched.
"I go down and knock on councilmen's doors," Zarkin said. "Mayor Street has been here to talk to me. ... He agrees totally with me. The circumstance is unenforceable and unfair."
Zarkin added that he does not think the legislation will pass soon.
"I think the city will go nonsmoking eventually, but it might be a couple of years instead of in January," he said.
Elmi agreed that the ban needs a few more years before it is passed.
Meanwhile, New York City, Washington and several states have already passed bans that prohibit smoking to some degree. Neighboring New Jersey is nearing consensus on a ban that may pass as early as next month.
