In late autumn of 2000, the Eugene City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting smoking in bars. Acceding to the concerns of public health advocates, the Council voted 7-1 to force bar owners to relegate smoking to designated, non-enclosed outdoor areas.
Some bars encountered minor financial problems, while others famously disregarded the law (temporarily, of course). In the end, bars reformed their practices and business plans. In the long run, the economic shock subsided as smokers became accustomed to puffing away outdoors.
At the beginning of the new year, a revised smoking ordinance took effect. It negates the previous ordinance and now forces bars to provide a 75 percent open smoking area.
The general trend is to force smokers to go outside. Even in Europe, bars and taverns – once famous for their voluminous clouds of smoke – have gone smoke free: Recently, the United Kingdom outlawed smoking in enclosed work places, including pubs; Ireland passed an anti-smoking ordinance that would fine violators
New smoking ordinance goes too far
Daily Emerald
January 22, 2007
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