Somerville bars quietly accept smoking ban

In the few months that remain before a statewide smoking ban takes effect, Somerville bars have mostly come to accept the conditions of the town ordinance.

In November, the Somerville Board of Aldermen passed a resolution asking for the ban to be reconsidered, citing a loss of business from Somerville's bars to establishments in neighboring towns without smoking bans, such as Everett and Malden.

"Bar owners have been very vocal -- occasionally they voice problems about a loss of business [to these towns]," said Mark Horan, spokesman for Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone.

Those vocal complaints may have died down recently, however. According to Rob Ames, manager of the Joshua Tree in Davis Square, there has been "no loss in business. People have reshuffled."

Hannah's, another local bar, has not been able to feel the effects of the ban as they are recently under new ownership. But owners of Handlebar Harry's, a bar in Plymouth, told the Plymouth Old Colony Memorial that they and several other restaurants were forced to close due to a 2001 smoking ban that took business to bars in neighboring towns without smoking bans.

However, this may not be an issue in just a few months. By July, the entire state is expected to be smoke free, after Governor Mitt Romney signs into law a statewide smoking ban. Romney has made public his support of a statewide ban, which would keep bars and restaurants in towns without bans from having an advantage over non-smoking businesses.

Somerville bars have been prohibited from allowing customers to smoke since Oct. 1, 2003 according to a Board of Health Ruling.

There was controversy reported in TheSomerville Journal suggesting that the recent replacement of Board of Health member Arnold Duclersaint was due to the smoking ban controversy. The Board of Health is an independent organization with members appointed by the Mayor.

Babette Mello, a registered nurse, replaced Duclersaint after he served for four years.

Duclersaint told the Journal that he believed that his removal from the board was because he voted against repealing the ban. Horan, however, said that the appointment was not about smoking. "It was not a litmus test based on the Alderman's resolution," he said.

"Joe [Curtatone] made the decision to go with a registered nurse over someone in the painting contracting business," Horan said, arguing that Mello was more qualified for the position.

Opponents of the ban say that it forces people to smoke outside, which poses the threat of noise complaints in residential neighborhoods. Horan said, however, that the Mayor's Office has received no complaints regarding noise due to smoking outside bars. "Noise complaints are not an issue," he said.

Ames also said that the Joshua Tree has not received any complaints. He did note that the establishment is surrounded by businesses, and that patrons are not allowed to smoke behind the building.

"We're monitoring activities in Somerville relative to the smoke-free workplace regulation and are hoping to see workers continue to be protected from secondhand smoke," said Diane Pickles, the Executive Director of Tobacco Free Mass.

According to Pickles, the nature of the ban is aimed at protecting workers, not preventing smokers from smoking. She also said that she is looking forward to working with Romney to ensure smooth transition to the statewide ban.

Enforcement of the ban has also taken a somewhat muted form. The Board of Health uses spot checks on bars to enforce the rules, and is currently advertising a 20 hour per week job to perform these checks. Horan said that the enforcement is more of a "reminder of what the law is."

Restaurants can be fined $50 for the first offense of the directive, $100 for the second, and can have their license to sell food suspended for two days after further violations.

Ames said that on several occasions he has had to remove people from the bar. "People try to smoke in the bathrooms, but we catch them and kick them out. I don't want to lose my food license."

Horan said that he did not know of any outright flaunting of the ban, as has been romanticized by articles in The New YorkTimes and The Boston Globe. "If there has been any rebellion it comes at the discretion of bar owners."

According to Horan, though Curtatone does not support the ban, it is not going to be a primary focus of his administration. "Assembly Square development and a balanced budget come in far ahead of the smoking ban," Horan said.

Currently the only establishments in Somerville that allow smoking are private clubs such as veterans' clubs. According to Massachusetts law, these clubs are defined as not-for-profit private organizations with a defined membership that are set up for charitable means.