The Republic photo illustration by Andy Heidt
The Republic photo illustration by Andy Heidt
By Boris Ladwig, The Republic City Editor

The smoking ban will have little, if any, effect on many Columbus businesses and employees, although some said they plan to hold on to their butts.

The city’s three largest employers, for example, have, for years, prohibited smoking, at least inside.

Cummins Inc. and Columbus Regional Hospital, which employ roughly 6,200, do not allow smoking in any company buildings.

Bartholomew County School Corp., the city’s third-largest employer, also prohibits smoking anywhere on its premises.

However, for Dorel Juvenile Group, a child car seat manufacturer on State Street, the ordinance will mean some changes and require some investments.

DJG has allowed smoking in designated inside areas, though it has been prohibited in offices and on the manufacturing floor, said Tim Ferguson, executive vice president of human resources.

Due to the ordinance, Dorel will invest in some bus stop-like outside shelters to protect smokers from the elements.

Ferguson said, however, that employees leaving the building to smoke would lower productivity and that the company therefore is investing up to $15,000 to create a fully enclosed smoking room inside the facility. He said an enormous external fan would suck out all the smoke directly to the outside.

Small businesses

Some restaurants will have to adjust to the smoke ban, but others, such as Smith’s Row Food & Spirits, at 418 Fourth St., have prohibited smoking for years.

Jim Dietz, who owns the downtown restaurant with his wife, Mary, said customers were allowed to smoke on the bar side when the restaurant opened about eight years ago.

Three months later, however, Smith’s Row became smoke-free, which, Dietz said, initially cost him about 5 percent of his customers.

In the long run, however, the decision helped the business, Dietz said, because the loss of some smokers was more than offset by non-smokers who were glad that the restaurant offered a smoke-free environment.

Von’s Pawn Shop, at 1750 State St., allowed smoking for about 8½ years after it opened in 1996.

About 1½ years ago, however, owner Steve Von Hoene made the establishment smoke free, because customers complained, and because the smoking increased his workload: cleaning the store and the merchandise.

Von Hoene said his revenue declined about 12 percent because of the decision, but he said he got tired of cleaning ashtrays and picking up cigarette butts on his property.

Von Hoene also expected that once the smoking ban takes effect and all his competitors have to go smoke-free, that he would win back the customers he lost as a result of the decision to ban smoking on the premises.

Meanwhile, Sheri Nicholson, who owns Etc. Services Inc., an accounting, payroll and tax service business at 240 California St., said she has not yet made up her mind as to how to react to the ban.

Nicholson and two of the business’ three other employees smoke inside the building, though not around clients who dislike the smoke.

And they combat the smoke with candles and air purifiers.

“I’ve been in business 20 years, and I’ve never had any problems,” Nicholson said.

She is considering moving her business outside of the city limits. Her customers have been loyal, she said, and she expected no effect on her business if she moved.

If she decides to stay, she said she would, reluctantly, smoke outside the building.

However, if a customer enters the business with a cigarette, she said she will not ask him to extinguish it.
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