August 4, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Cameroon: Journalism: Speaking Out: The Capital Times: Margaret Krome writes in certain neighborhoods of Madison, bars and taverns are a central gathering place, and it's important for children to be integrated into the community life
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August 4, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Cameroon: Journalism: Speaking Out: The Capital Times: Margaret Krome writes in certain neighborhoods of Madison, bars and taverns are a central gathering place, and it's important for children to be integrated into the community life
Margaret Krome writes in certain neighborhoods of Madison, bars and taverns are a central gathering place, and it's important for children to be integrated into the community life
I value the bars and taverns of our city, and I value the constructive place they can have in community life. This means creating a healthier, smoke-free environment that invites families to be regular customers, but it may also mean accommodating with a less absolute smoking ban so that the businesses remain profitable, thriving institutions in the community. Journalist Margaret Krome served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon.
Margaret Krome writes in certain neighborhoods of Madison, bars and taverns are a central gathering place, and it's important for children to be integrated into the community life
Margaret Krome: Families - and a compromise - could help bars
By Margaret Krome
August 4, 2005
Last night I went to a bar in an Illinois town. Maybe I was tired, or maybe it was the vibe of the place. But probably it was the smoke that made me decide to head out very quickly.
Madison's ban on smoking in its taverns sets it apart from other Midwestern university towns and certainly from most Wisconsin communities. In its first month, bars in many Madison neighborhoods experienced a significant loss of customers, and it's not surprising that many owners are angry about the ban, especially since bars in other nearby communities are attracting their former patrons.
But I wonder if the middle of summer, with families on vacation and most students gone, gives a representative test of the ban's probable long-term impact. After our daughter returned from camp last week, we walked to our neighborhood bar one evening for burgers, fries and a game of pool. Other families were there as well, and our waiter said that families definitely were coming into the bar in greater numbers with the ban in effect, even with so many gone for summer vacations. A little later in the week, we saw our next-door neighbors heading back from supper at the bar with their 3-year old. It might take a while for families to consider bars a welcoming dinner destination, but being smoke-free is crucial to cultivating that clientele.
Years ago, I studied botany in the Bahamas one winter. Aside from shoelace ferns and palm varieties, the most interesting part of the trip was the evening culture of the small islands, which featured a wholesome and multi-generational community bar scene. Grandmothers played with their grandchildren, parents danced with children, and debonair young men chatted grandly in prominent places. Soft drinks were abundant, music was varied, and the bar kept up a steady business.
The waiter at our neighborhood Madison bar confirmed what I observed about the growth of family patrons, but he said that, not surprisingly, it only lasts for a while into the evening. Parents don't bring their children to bars at 10:30 at night. It's the later part of the evening when bar owners are particularly conscious of the loss of smoking customers.
For many communities in the state, and in certain neighborhoods of Madison, bars and taverns are a central gathering place, and it's important for children to be integrated into the community life. It's also important that they not be subjected routinely to secondhand smoke and the culture of smoking that creates it. Our waiter described the physical relief he has experienced during July as an asthmatic, and I feel similar relief for myself, but it's especially for children and young adults that I appreciate being able to eat, drink and chat in a smoke-free environment.
However, we may not have reached the balance point on this issue.
Once the ban has had a reasonable test period, with students and families returned, it seems appropriate to assess its impact as objectively as possible. Despite my strong dislike for smoke-filled rooms, I don't think it's reasonable for bar owners to absorb the large losses that some seem to have experienced in July. If that continues, some of these establishments will likely close down, making their neighborhoods and our communities poorer for it.
I support exploring alternatives. Some have advocated promoting a statewide ban. Certainly it would make the state healthier and put bar owners in Madison and other communities less at a disadvantage. But it would take a long time to enact, and its chances of passage are slim.
Might there be other accommodations to all parties to explore? Would it be possible, for example, to stratify usage times, so that bars are smokeless until 11 p.m. or midnight, allowing two customer bases to gather? Less optimally, could there be three days of the week that are smoke-allowed and other days that are smoke-free?
I value the bars and taverns of our city, and I value the constructive place they can have in community life. This means creating a healthier, smoke-free environment that invites families to be regular customers, but it may also mean accommodating with a less absolute smoking ban so that the businesses remain profitable, thriving institutions in the community.
Margaret Krome of Madison writes a semimonthly column for The Capital Times. E-mail: mkrome@inxpress.net.
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Story Source: The Capital Times
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Cameroon; Journalism; Speaking Out
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