SMOKING BAN MAY NEVER GET A CHANCE TO WORK

WHEN California became the first state to ban smoking in bars, the nation
watched and wondered:

Would smokers accept the ban peacefully, or would they march in anger on
Sacramento? Would they stop going to bars, or would they learn to drink
their beer without a cigarette, just as they learned to drink their morning
restaurant coffee without a smoke? Would the ban spell economic disaster
for tavern owners, or would non-smokers start filling the empty bar stools
once the smoke cleared?

Members of the California Assembly don't want us to know the answers to
those questions. They want to end the smoke-free bars experiment before it
has a chance to be tested. On Wednesday, the Assembly narrowly voted to
exempt bars and gaming clubs from the state's workplace smoking ban until
2001 and perhaps forever.

Even if AB 297 is also passed by the Senate, smoking in bars will continue
to be illegal until Jan. 1, 1999. But it is unlikely that police or bar
owners will bother to enforce a lame-duck ban. It will be just another
meaningless law on the books this year.

Reversing the smoking ban was one of the first actions the Assembly took
this session. Why the rush? Though smokers and bar owners have griped about
the law and have threatened to boycott the state lottery, there has been no
widespread revolt. There has been confusion over enforcement, and many
owners and patrons are ignoring the law. But that was expected with a new
law of this nature. At least the Assembly could have given the law a few
months to see whether it worked before voting to ban the ban. Instead, the
Assembly just wimped out.

We hope the Senate takes a more thoughtful approach to this legislation.
The smoking ban is not popular with some bar owners, some smokers or the
tobacco industry. It is popular with Californians who don't smoke and with
tavern workers, including bartenders, servers and musicians.

But this should not be just a popularity contest. There are public health
issues at stake. California initiated this experiment, and we ought to
stick with it until the results are in.