No More Clouds

by Annie Scott
December 16, 2009

Here’s what’s going on in a land far away but not so far apart from the Mitten …

As I read the news that Michigan was at long last closing in on a statewide smoking ban in public areas, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Finally.

I announced the Mitten’s great step forward to some of my coworkers — most of them California natives. They looked at me incredulously. Then one spoke what they all appeared to be thinking.

“You mean there are actually states where you can still smoke indoors? Wow. What took them so long?” Excellent question. But better late than never.

The fact that tobacco-dependent states like North Carolina and Virginia had started pulling ahead of the Mitten on smoke-free legislation was making me very uncomfortable. I knew Michigan was capable of doing the right thing — it just needed to do it.

At long last, Michiganders will be able to enjoy the cleaner air and safer, healthier, breathing-friendly spaces that those of us in the 37 other states that already enacted some sort of smoking ban have realized is the only way to live.

My lungs and I are spoiled after spending the past three years in smoke-free-pioneer California. In 1990, San Luis Obispo, on California’s central coast, became the first city in the world to ban smoking in all public buildings. Positive results soon followed, and the rest of the state followed suit in 1995, enacting the first ban that prohibited smoking in public buildings and restaurants. In 1998 the statewide ban was extended to include most bars and casinos.

I suppose I have become a bit of a smoke-free snob. While “home” over Thanksgiving weekend, I could not bring myself to go out to meet my close friends at an East Lansing bar. The thought of breathing in clouds of smoke for hours and coming home with reeking clothes and hair was unbearable. Fortunately, several other friends who have moved away had the same issue and organized a gathering at one of their homes instead.

There are more than a few of us who feel and act that way. Numerous studies have found that enacting smoking bans does not actually hurt restaurant or bar business. Plus, with the added health benefits for employees, it seems like a no-brainer.

Here, smoke-free air is essentially a given. (Smog is another issue, of course, but I digress.) In addition to bars, restaurants and workplaces, many beaches and parks throughout the state prohibit smoking. More than 100 municipalities are recognized as “smoke-free.” I can count on one hand the number of times I have been disturbed by someone smoking nearby.

Some of my friends who grew up out here cannot recall a time when they saw someone smoking in a restaurant. Those who have worked in bars and restaurants are horrified by the idea of having to work in a smoke-saturated environment for hours on end. One even asked me whether the restaurant and bar owners pay employees extra for their health expenses. The first time I took my West Coast-bred boyfriend to meet my hometown friends for a drink, he found himself staring repeatedly at the many people who were lighting up all around us. He couldn’t get over it.

Everyone has the same complaint: “But it’s so… unhealthy. How can people stand it?”

Apparently, they could stand it no longer. Waiting until now, however, has at least enabled Michigan to learn from mistakes and challenges met by other states’ smoke-free endeavors.

The air didn’t miraculously clear right away in California. When the ban was still new for the state’s bars and restaurants, officials ran into enforcement issues galore. Many patrons and proprietors simply ignored the new law. Casinos fought for fairer treatment. But through the years, details and compromises were worked out. Now it’s taken for granted that you don’t have to choke down your sushi along with a noseful of someone else’s exhaled smoke.

As Michigan’s smoking-ban bill approaches the signing finish line, several California communities are continuing to evolve their smoking-ban legislation. The City of Los Angeles is considering joining several other cities in further restricting California’s statewide ban to keep smoke away from outdoor dining areas. A Santa Monica group successfully lobbied the city council to ban smoking in common areas of apartments and condos. Now they’re asking for more nonsmoking units of multifamily housing, and to prohibit smoking on balconies and patios of multifamily buildings. In San Diego County, the City of Escondido recently voted down a proposal to add hookah lounges in an effort to attract more young people to the downtown.

There’s always another loophole to close in the pursuit of fresh air.

I am proud of Michigan for finally passing this critically important legislation. For all those who resolve unsuccessfully every New Year’s Eve to quit smoking, maybe they can take some inspiration from their state.

Annie Scott lives and works in San Diego and sends dispatches back to her beloved Michigan.