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New smoking battle could erupt as early as April

By Tony Ku

Smoke that once filled Mesa and Tempe bars and restaurants was extinguished after months of smoldering debate, each one resulting in a thin margin victory for non-smoking advocates.

That same kind of heavyweight battle now is likely to hit the stage in the Chandler council chambers.

Dave Bigos, Chandler's information officer, said the Smoking Ordinance Advisory Committee gave the proposed no-smoking law an OK last week.
"It was a decision made by the city council after they looked at different cities and saw what was going on," Bigos said.

"They thought it would be best to have a committee of citizens look at it and then make a recommendation."

Should a ban be approved, the council would have to decide whether bar, accessory bars or bowling alleys would be exempt forever or only until 2005.

Council members also would have to decide whether the ban would take effect immediately or at some future date.

Though the bill hasn't reached the public yet, the committee's recommendation, which came by a decisive 10-2 vote, is drawing mixed reactions from restaurant owners.

"We have a pretty active smoking group out here," said Raul Razo, manager at Chili's Grill and Bar at Alma School and Elliot roads.

But Razo added that, even with a smoking ban implemented in Chandler, he doesn't see revenue taking a significant dive for his restaurant.

"It's still hard to say what the effects will be," he said. "But I don't think (existing customers) will travel to Scottsdale just so they can smoke and have food."

Razo's opinion isn't shared by all bar and restaurant owners, however. Last spring, Tempe bars and restaurants faced off in a heated battle with a proposed smoking ordinance that eventually passed.

The dispute initially arose over whether patios would be included as a part of the non-smoking areas. 

With no-smoking ordinances now well established in Mesa and Tempe, bar and restaurant owners on Mill Avenue say they don't see much potential benefit from Chandler initiating a similar law.

"Last year, we had a double-digit drop in revenue, and it's attributed mostly to the smoking ban," said Stan Nicpon, owner of Uno's Pizzeria on Mill Avenue.

"If they implement a smoking ban in Chandler, things are going to stay the same until they put in a state-wide ban."

Nicpon said the demographics between Chandler and Tempe are not different, and many smokers have found refuge in Scottsdale, not in Chandler bars and restaurants.

But Dr. Leland Fairbanks, an advocate of banning smoking in restaurants and bars, said at the heart of the issue was not only protecting the rights of individuals wanting to eat in a smoke-free environment, but employees who had to breathe second hand smoke day in and day out.

"There will be some opposition from the bar and restaurant owners," Fairbanks said. "But people are also overwhelmingly convinced that they should not have their air space invaded."

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