A Year Later, the Smoke Has Cleared and Business is Back: Businesses Have Been Effective in Enforcin

Jun 30, 06:01 AM

Current Headlines: By David Tewes, Victoria Advocate, Texas

Jun. 30--Today marks the one-year anniversary of Victoria's ban on smoking in all buildings open to the public, and business operators and public officials said it seems that for the most part the public has accepted the change. "I've asked a few of the customers about it and even the smokers will say it's not that bad of an idea altogether," said Dane Garrison, general manager of the Tejas Cafe and Bar.

He said business dropped in the bar and restaurant when the ban first went into effect. But he said things have recovered, and some customers even come from outside the city to enjoy the smoke-free environment.

"As of now, everybody has gotten comfortable with it and learned to respect the law," Garrison said.

The proposal to expand Victoria's smoking ban from restaurants to all public buildings was approved by 70 percent of the voters in May 2006. The council later adopted an ordinance shoring up the public vote and City Secretary Scarlet Swoboda said the ban went into effect June 30, 2006.

It made it illegal to smoke in any building open to the public or within 12 feet of an entrance to a public building. A public building is defined as any building other than one used as a private residence.

Municipal Court Clerk Mary Danysh said 22 smoking ban citations have been issued over the past year. She said there were 13 convictions, three cases were dismissed and six were still pending. The last case filed was on April 19.

Danysh said the standard fine for a smoking ban violation is $140, including court costs. Police Chief Bruce Ure said officers continue to enforce the smoking ban as complaints are received from customers or business owners.

"Generally the proprietors police themselves," he said. "I think the method of enforcement right now at the level of the store owners is extremely effective and less abrasive than anything else we could do."

While police conducted a smoking ban sting one weekend, Ure said there are no plans to do that again. "The primary reason is because we have tremendous compliance."

City Attorney David Smith agreed.

"I think it has been very successful," he said. "There's not a lot of smoking anywhere."

Smith also said he doesn't consider 22 smoking ban citations that many for a city this size. He predicted the number of tickets issued for violations would drop because most people appreciate the ban.

But Ure said if customers refuse to comply with the ban, officers will do what they need to do.

"It's a health and safety issue," he said. "If we turn our back on it, it could escalate into something much greater." David Tewes is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6515 or dtewes@vicad.com, or comment on this story here.

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