Gwinnett County, where I live, has passed a no-smoking ban. This will go into effect in April and is causing quite a bit of consternation with some local businesses.

Gwinnett Outlaws Indoor Smoking

Lawrenceville, Ga. (AP) -- Gwinnett County commissioners unanimously approved a broad indoor smoking ban on Tuesday.

The regulation covers virtually all buildings, public and private, except for smoke shops, private homes and designated smoking rooms in motels or inns.

The law, which makes no exemptions for restaurants or bars, will go into effect in two to three months.

It does not exempt restaurants and bars. Excuse me? Let me read that again. "makes no exemptions for restaurants or bars"

What the hell are they smoking? Since it's obviously not cigarettes I can think of only one thing. Note that this does not mean that a bar can allow smoking in a smoking section, or a restaurant in a separate room with special ventilation. It means that there will be no smoking in bars and restaurants, period.

This is a huge hit on the establishments that are affected by it. What will happen here is that people who go out clubbing are not going to be going out clubbing in Gwinnett. Smokers do not want to go out to their cars when they're out drinking and dancing. Guys watching the game at the local pub do not want to step outside for a cig. People tend to go out in groups and these groups of people are going to tend to go outside of Gwinnett for their entertainment. Gwinnett businesses will suffer because of this ordinance.

The only credit I can give to the people who drafted this travesty is that they do not seem to be holding businesses culpable if people smoke on the premises. They are targetting the actual smokers themselves.

Any person who violates the ordinance would be fined $50 for the first violation, $75 for a second and $100 for each subsequent violation within one year.

But how is this going to work? If I'm down at Wild Bill's and I light up a smoke is somebody going to call the cops on me? Is a cop going to respond to an emergency call that somebody is having a cigarette? Does the cop have to see you smoking in order to ticket you? Remember that this isn't a criminal act, it would be a citation for violating an ordinance. Is a cop going to ticket me when it's my word against a third party's?

But all of that crap is secondary to the problems that this thing will cause for local businesses. Although the legislators poo-poo the idea that it will hurt any establishment it looks like it already has, even before it's been implemented.

Owner says smoking ban a factor in closing bar

It doesn’t go into effect for four months, but the smoking ban may have already had its first casualty.

Slocum’s, a Peachtree Corners establishment that had hosted live bands and neighborhood tavern clientele for 17 years closed its doors after a New Year’s Eve party.

This ban will only be effective in unincorporated areas of the county, actual cities within the county are not affected. Of course, the vast majority of bars and nightclubs in Gwinnett do not reside within incorporated areas of the county. In any case, cities within the county are expected to enact bans of their own in the near future.

Ban could expand

Following Gwinnett's passage of a no-smoking ordinance Tuesday, several cities in the county are contemplating similar laws.

"We talked about it three or four months ago," said Lilburn Mayor-elect Jack Bolton. "I expect now we'll revisit it."

Bolton, who is on the Lilburn City Council, said he felt then that it would put Lilburn restaurants at a competitive disadvantage if the county didn't do it.

Bolton needs a severe cranio-rectal reduction. How in the world could you think of it as a competitive disadvantage when you refrain from restricting businesses? Right now, at this very moment, any restaruant or bar could adopt a non-smoking policy. If they thought that they would make money by doing so they would have. None have. Why? Because they lose money by doing so. Many restaurants have separate smoking rooms with specialized air handling. These places get more custom than restaurants without such facilities. Why? Because they appeal to smokers and non-smokers alike.

Legislators need to get their stinking paws off the backs of our businesses. Let the customers decide and let them vote with their dollars. Let businesses work out what is best for them by working out what is preferred by their customers. For heaven's sake, let capitalism work!

UPDATE: Clancy weighs in on the subject. He's up in Delaware where the entire state has a similar ban.