UNDERCOVER POLICE CITE BAR SMOKERS

OAKLAND -- It was a slow night, until two undercover Oakland police officers
strolled into the Seven Seas bar on MacArthur Boulevard.

The cops, posing as a couple of friends out for an early evening drink (of
soda), were actually scouts for a handful of uniformed police officers and a
county health inspector waiting outside.

The Seven Seas was one of six establishments they would visit during
Thursday night's sting operation to catch people smoking inside bars, which
is illegal under California's 11/2-year-old labor law.

When the call came, the uniformed officers entered the bar. They were
greeted at the door by the smell of cigarette smoke. Packs of cigarettes
lined the bar counter like drinks, and breath-mint tins doubled as ashtrays.

Six people were given $100 tickets, including bar owner Joe Kanhai. Under
the law, a second offense is a $200 fine and a third offense $500. That's a
lot of cigarettes.

Kanhai, who has owned the bar eight years, wasn't happy when the officers
descended upon his small establishment and cited his customers.

"It's their right to smoke," Kanhai said. "They're selling it, you should
have the right to smoke wherever you want. It's bull. I can understand if we
were gambling."

There was no designated outdoor smoking area, or any signs telling patrons
not to smoke inside the bar.

"These are my customers," Kanhai said. "I'm not going to throw them out if
they want to smoke."

Kanhai said that according to the law, if the owner is working, his or her
customers are allowed to smoke inside.

But Janice Louie, a specialist with Alameda County's Tobacco Control
Program, said that's untrue. She said if a business has any employees, even
if they work part-time, the establishment must be smoke-free 24 hours a day.

Louie was on a similar sting in April, when 11 citations were cited at the
Kings X bar on Piedmont Avenue. This time at the Kings X, two steel benches
had been placed outside and four people were making use of the smoking area.
Inside, one man was caught puffing on a cigar.

In all, police issued seven citations during the Thursday night sting
operation, compared to 17 in April.

At other bars, large 'no smoking' signs were posted, and chairs and benches
lined the outside walls. Patrons regularly stepped outside to light up.

"At least there was progress made," Louie said. " My goal is to have
everyone in compliance.

She has been on similar sting operations with Alameda County sheriff's
deputies and the Hayward Police Department.

Many customers said police should be getting drug dealers off the street,
not harassing people minding their own business.

But Oakland police Sgt. Ray Petty said officers merely are enforcing the
law. Ideally, he said, police would have such stings every two weeks.

"This is just as important as anything else," he said. "It's just like doing
traffic stops."