What Are They Smoking In St. Louis Park?

You don't smoke. You don't like second hand smoke. But how do you avoid restaurants where you might be exposed to the evils of second hand smoke?

Well if you live here in St. Louis Park, Minnesota the city government is working on a solution.

A St. Louis Park task force proposal requiring restaurants to disclose secondhand smoke levels could mean an increase in license fees for restaurants that aren't smoke free.

Representatives from the city and the St. Louis Park Restaurant Smoking Task Force will outline a proposal during a series of upcoming meetings requiring restaurants that allow smoking to disclose secondhand smoke levels to customers and employees.

"So when patrons walk in to a restaurant they'll see a posted certificate or graph of smoking levels in the establishment and they can make an informed consumer decision comparing levels to other restaurants," said Brian Hoffman, director of inspections.

Silly me. I thought that maybe by walking into a restaurant you could decide for yourself whether it was too smoky for your tastes. Obviously other St. Louis Park residents must have been clamoring for a GRAPH so that they can make an "informed" decision. Clearly government intervention is required.

Gary Rackner, co-owner of Bunny's Bar and Grill, 5916 Excelsior Blvd., said he's willing to go along with the testing and pay an increase in license fees to appease the task force.

Now I've been to Bunny's a few dozen times and when it comes to smoking in the joint, it's not the smoke that's second hand it's the breathable air. So I was curious why the owner would favor this proposal.

"I'm glad it came to this. They were originally talking about making all restaurants in St. Louis Park non-smoking. That would be horrific," said Rackner. "If it was a state ban then fine, but if it was just non-smoking here, with businesses in other cities offering smoking, it would kill us."

When Rackner said he was willing to "appease" the task force he wasn't kidding. Faced with a choice of paying a bit more in license fees or going out of business he's doing whatever it takes to survive.

But I guess as long as the restaurant owners are picking up the tab this really won't affect us taxpayers in St. Louis Park right?

If the proposed program was enacted, Hoffman said the city would need to purchase equipment for staff to use when collecting the samples.

"We are still working to finalize the costs, however the estimated total initial capitol costs could range from a few thousand dollars to approximately $20,000.

These costs could be amortized over time and included in the annual testing cost or possibly covered through a grant from some interested party wanting to promote tobacco awareness," said Hoffman.

Now 20k isn't a lot of money. And I suppose that if some "interested party" was willing to pick up the cost it would be okay. But we have a state budget crisis here in Minnesota and all I've been hearing from the city for the last six months is whining about how much they're going to have cut back (and raise my property taxes) because state funding to cities is being trimmed back. My question is do we REALLY need this program?

There are approximately 70 restaurants in St. Louis Park--one-third of them would be affected by the proposal, which, Hoffman said, is not meant as a punishment for restaurants allowing smoking. "The real goal is to promote awareness of secondhand smoke so residents can make wise decisions."

Obviously there are non-smoking options available. You don't like second hand smoke? Don't eat in smoky restaurants. Don't work in a smoky restaurant. It's called the marketplace.

Awareness? Don't tell me that you need a chart on the wall to tell you whether it's smoky. Walk into Bunny's. Look around. Smell the air. Get a clue.