Majority in Valparaiso favor smoking ban

VALPARAISO | Opinions on both sides of the issue of whether to ban smoking in city restaurants and workplaces is strong, but the vast majority favor making Valparaiso smokefree.

Results of a survey by Valparaiso University were the focus of Wednesday's meeting of the council's task force on smoking in the workplace. The survey drew almost a 40 percent response from the 2,500 households queried, an unusually high number. Almost two-thirds said the city should regulate where people can smoke.

Banning smoking in restaurants and the workplace was favored by almost three-fourths of the respondents, while more than 80 percent said smokers should be separated in both locations. Smokefree bars was supported by only 51 percent but 70 percent favored a separate area for smokers in bars.

Larry Baas, director of the VU Community Research and Service Center of the Political Science Department, which conducted the survey, said about 85 percent of the respondents were nonsmokers. An estimated 27 percent of Indiana's population smoke, but Baas said the number of smokers in Valparaiso might be lower because of the higher education and income levels.

Perhaps the most telling result of the survey came in response to what impact a ban would have on people going to bars or restaurants. While about half the people said it wouldn't have any impact on their going to either, 37 percent said they would go to restaurants more often if smoking were banned while only 13.5 percent said they would go less often.

For bars, the results were that about 25 percent would go more often and 19 percent would go less often. Baas said the survey seems to show that people with the most money to spend appear to be the ones who would go out more.

The results were kind of conservative as far as Jim Sievers, vice president of Inman's Recreation, was concerned. Since going smokefree a couple of years ago in all but the bar area, business has increased 30 percent, Sievers said.

He said a decision could be made within a month whether to make the bar smokefree as well, but he and Russ Adams, owner of Strongbow Inn and Pastimes, said many restaurants would like to ban smoking but are reluctant to "pull the trigger" for fear of losing business to places that still allow it. However, they would love to have the city order it to create a level playing field for all.

Task force Chairman Bruce Berner said, based on the number of responses, the huge support for banning smoking and the strong feeling of those responding, it doesn't appear the city would get much resistance to banning it in restaurants and work places. It gets a bit dicier in places where alcohol is served.

The task force hopes to hold a conference call next month with leaders of communities that have passed smoking bans to see what has worked and where the pitfalls are. The group hopes to present its recommendations to the council by November.