Some Cheyenne bar patrons enjoy their last indoor puffs
JARED MILLER Star-Tribune capital bureau | Posted: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 12:00 am
CHEYENNE - Crystal Good wasn't about to let Tuesday night slip by without a cigarette.
The 22-year-old joined a group of friends who went out of their way to smoke indoors before Cheyenne's smoke-free ordinance took effect at midnight.
"It feels like they are taking another one of my rights away, and I just wanted to enjoy it," said Good, puffing on a Camel light menthol at a Cheyenne bar, her first cigarette since she quit three years ago.
On the first day of the ban Wednesday, tavern workers reported plenty of grumbling but said customers were following the rule.
Russ Edgar, a regular at The Crown Bar, said the ordinance is an inconvenience and will take some getting used to.
"I keep reaching for my pack," said Edgar, a 46-year-old truck driver and carpenter who is sure he'll spend less time and money in bars now.
Evan Maurer, a 21-year-old Cheyenne telecommunications worker and smoker, said the ordinance doesn't compute.
Cigarettes "are legal - you can buy them, but you can't smoke them?" said Maurer, who walked outside The Crown Bar to have a cigarette Wednesday evening.
Police Chief Bob Fecht said he wasn't aware of any citations by his officers Wednesday. Police will first warn smokers who mistakenly break the law, he said.
The city has produced brochures and an advertising campaign to educate the public about the ordinance, which the City Council adopted after intensive public debate over several weeks.
"They're not going to like it - they have the right to protest it - but when it comes time for the law to go into effect, 99 percent of our community is going to follow it," Fecht said.
The ordinance - one of only two comprehensive city smoking laws in the state - forbids smoking in nearly every public building, including bars and restaurants, and prohibits smoking within 10 feet of a public entryway. Smoke shops are exempt from the rule.
The Laramie City Council instated a similar ordinance, and subsequent studies found no overall adverse effect on businesses. Casper voters rejected a smoking ordinance in 2000. Prominent state lawmakers have said a statewide law is possible, but not for at least a decade.
Opponents of Cheyenne's ordinance argued that it will infringe on personal rights and could harm businesses. They failed to gather enough valid signatures to force a voter referendum last month.
Supporters say the ordinance will reduce the risk of illnesses related to second-hand smoke, and could help Cheyenne attract conscientious businesses.
Tiffany Ramirez, a 27-year-old restaurant manager, hit the town with a small group of friends to commemorate the last night of legal indoor smoking with beers and plenty of cigarettes Tuesday.
"I read in the newspaper about the ban and called all my friends and said, 'We have to go out. It's the last night to smoke in Cheyenne in the bars.'"
George Patrick Armstrong, a 27-year-old cook, said he's been trying to stop smoking anyway, so maybe the ordinance isn't so bad. "I'm anxious to see what's going to happen," Armstrong said.
Goofy's Bar on the east end of town hosted a "smoke-in," which might have been the only advertised event to commemorate the last night before the rule took effect. Owner Tim Keeney offered smokers a place to commiserate - and 50-cent draft beers.
"In the '60s you had sit-ins," Keeney said. "This is the same type of thing to commemorate the last night you can smoke in a bar."
Troy Miller, a 33-year-old auto sales manager and nonsmoker, endured one last night of second-hand smoke to watch his favorite NFL team with friends at The Crown Bar. He's thrilled about the smoke-free ordinance.
"I don't enjoy the smell (of smoke)," he said. "I don't enjoy the second-hand smoke. I hate the stink on your clothes."
Miller's friend at the bar, auto sales manager and fellow nonsmoker James Palikan, 38, called the smoke-free ordinance "the best thing this town ever did."
"All these people who are smokers are (upset) because they have to walk 10 feet out the door to smoke - whaa," he said.
Reach capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at jared.miller@casperstartribune.net.