Day 1 of Anti-Smoking Measure Brings Huffs, Puffs, Calls to County

County officials were deluged with calls Thursday--the day that a tough anti-smoking ordinance took effect--from nonsmokers calling to report violations and from smokers complaining that their rights were being violated.

“It’s mad here today,” said Willie Pugh, an official with the county’s Bureau of Public Health Administration. “We’re getting it from both sides, from nonsmokers calling to complain that the ordinance is not being obeyed and from smokers venting their anger at us over the smoking ban.”

Pugh said his office had received “at least 100 calls” from both sides by 4 p.m. Some of the calls were from business owners requesting no-smoking signs.

Most restaurant owners and managers in the unincorporated areas said they already reserve nonsmoking tables for their customers and were aware of the new ordinance.

Don DeLong, who runs the T-Bone Cafe in Lakeside, said he is going to comply with the law even though “about three-fourths of our customers smoke.”

Not Much of a Problem

“It’s really not that much of a problem at our little cafe,” DeLong said. “We already had a no-smoking section, a few tables at the back. . . . Yeah, our smoking customers sit at the front. You think I’m going to kick out our good customers just because they smoke? If I did, I wouldn’t last long.”

Officials received many calls from whistle blowers in the East County, Pugh said.

“They said that they had wanted to complain for a long time about smokers in their workplaces,” Pugh said. “They were afraid to complain until now. They’re telling us that they want us to enforce the law.”

Pugh said people who call to complain about violations of the ordinance in their offices will remain anonymous. The county will deal with workplace violations by writing a letter to the company, advising officials there of the new measure and asking them to call Pugh’s office within 10 days for further information.

Unincorporated Areas

The ordinance applies only in the county’s unincorporated areas, but Pugh said some callers thought that it applied throughout the county and called to complain about smokers in restaurants and workplaces in San Diego.

The measure, which was passed last month by the Board of Supervisors, is intended to protect nonsmokers from breathing secondhand smoke in some public places and work areas. The ordinance requires restaurants to set aside at least 50% of the serving areas for nonsmokers and prohibits smoking in offices where there are nonsmokers. Motels and hotels are also required to provide nonsmoking rooms.

Exempted from the ordinance are bars, bowling alleys, video arcades and other businesses. The measure also allows some businesses to apply for exemptions.

Businesses have 30 days to comply with the law or face fines of $50 for the first offense, or up to $250 in fines for multiple offenses within a 12-month period. However, the 30-day grace period does not apply to restaurants. Beginning Thursday, restaurants were required to reserve at least half of their dining areas for nonsmokers.

Informal Survey

Paul McIntyre, executive director of the San Diego Restaurant Assn., said an informal survey by his organization showed that as many as 60% of restaurant customers prefer no-smoking sections. McIntyre said that at some restaurants, the demand for no-smoking tables is as high as 90%, while at others it is as low as 35%.

Originally, the restaurant association, which represents about 450 San Diego area restaurants, opposed the county measure. But, after several compromises were reached on the proposal, the association decided to endorse it. However, the group has not asked its members to comply voluntarily with the ordinance.

“We wanted to be very careful that anything that was passed by the county would not offend people on both sides of the issue. But the public demand has changed, and that’s why we were open to a change. . . . Something like this would have been considered radical four years ago, but it seems to be a better accepted idea of society at this point,” McIntyre said.

The county ordinance was written by Supervisor Leon Williams, and his office estimated that it affects about 5,800 businesses. McIntyre estimated that there are about 5,500 restaurants, including fast-food places, and delicatessens throughout the county. But sit-down restaurants number only about 2,500, he said.