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| D.C.’s smokers, like Alan Petner, will have to light up outdoors starting next month. The city’s ban on smoking in bars and nightclubs goes into effect Jan. 1. (Photo by Adam Cuthbert) |
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: KATHERINE VOLIN COMMENTS
 
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New York Times.
Lee maintains that the ban overall will hurt nightlife and disputes figures showing no economic impact on bars and clubs, saying the New York Department of Health included all hospitality businesses, from hotels to McDonald’s and corner delis.
“The smoking prohibition groups have been very successful in developing and maintaining this myth that mandatory smoking bans do not negatively affect nightlife business,” Lee says. “Besides being preposterous, it’s simply untrue. These studies in New York or elsewhere that are conducted by defensive city government [are] trying to put a happy face on this.”
Cici Muhktar, owner of gay-friendly bar Polly’s, 1342 U St., NW, said she was doing nothing to prepare for the ban.
“We have the patio so the customers can smoke there,” Muhktar said. “For the cold winter months we’re getting one of those kerosene lamps so that customers don’t freeze their butts off. We’ll just have to wait and see if it has a negative impact.”
Just down 14th Street at another gay-friendly bar, Café St. Ex’s director of operations John Snellgrove said he thinks the ban will harm his business.
“I think it will indirectly affect my business because it’ll really annoy the neighbors when people are outside,” Snellgrove said. “They’ll be drinking and they’ll be loud. They’ll be outside in a residential, mixed-use neighborhood like this. It’ll be very annoying to people.”
Zack Rosen contributed to this report
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