Northwest Indiana Discussion

http://www.post-trib.com/news/335494,nosmoking.article

Businesses weigh total ban impact

April 11, 2007
BY DANIELLE BRAFF Post-Tribune staff writer


Imagine local casinos without their signature cigarette smell creating a decadent atmosphere.

P>Or bowling alleys without their smoke-filled ambiance.
Or sports arenas without the beer-and-cigarettes combo that appears to go hand in hand with baseball games.


» Click to enlarge image

Adrienne Gonzalez gets a light from a friend during her bartending shift Tuesday at Maxim’s Restaurant & Lounge in Merrillville.
(Andy Lavalley/Post-Tribune)

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Imagine the future of Northwest Indiana, following the Indiana House's approval Tuesday of a statewide ban on smoking in almost all enclosed public spaces, two weeks after Illinois' senate also approved a smoking ban.
The ban isn't a done deal yet, as the bill is still moving toward final passage.

It's a future casino officials don't want to fathom, because it could mean an instant 15 percent decline in gamblers should a smoking ban happen, said Mike Smith, president of the Casino Association of Indiana.

"Like most things in America, casinos are driven by the customer," Smith said. "If the customers cannot get the experience they want, they won't come."

Bowling alleys would also suffer should a smoking ban be imposed, according to the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, who said there would be about 15 percent fewer league bowlers in the ban's first year.

But Eileen Herntheisong, an employee at Stardust Bowl II in Merrillville, said her bowling alley already bans smoking on Saturdays, when there are more youth bowlers, and she said it hasn't decreased business. Herntheisong, a smoker, said anyone who wants to smoke on Saturdays simply goes outside.

Some bowlers said they'd appreciate a ban on smoking in bowling alleys, and it might even make them frequent those places more often.

Toni Hughes of Merrillville was bowling Tuesday afternoon with her two children and her two nephews. She doesn't smoke, and she had a list of reasons why smoking in bowling alleys should be banned.

"It's frustrating, especially in a bowling alley, when you're trying to concentrate and you get smoke in your eyes," Hughes said.

Bridget Holmes was bowling Tuesday in Merrillville without a cigarette in her hand because she's 81â

With these two, BIG news, articles, what's the point here!

I wanted the people to know, that the government is trying to get into
our lives again.

I think that they need to but out.

I feel the same way about seat belts, and other things that you can think of.

Instead of making Indiana a police state.
How about working at cutting taxes, down sizing government.

Thank-you.

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