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The clean air inside bars and restaurants is leading to dirtier areas outside some of them.
The mess is a byproduct of a new state law that took effect July 1 that prohibits smoking in most enclosed public places. With bar and restaurant patrons now forced to light up outside, cigarette butts are piling up on entryways and sidewalks across the state.
"It's a pretty amazing amount," said Kacy Smith, owner of Tic Toc restaurant/bar in Cedar Rapids.
He said the number of cigarette butts that don't make it into the receptacle outside has gone from about 20 per night to 120 since July 1.
The Smoke-free Air Act was approved last spring to much controversy. Opponents are still voicing their displeasure.
Among other complaints, some restaurant and bar owners have argued that smoking should be allowed on outdoor patios.
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Business owners say the statewide ban on smoking inside is creating a mess outside.
They say the number of cigarette butts tossed on the ground outside of their doors has increased dramatically since the smoking ban went into effect on July 1.
The ban was approved last spring and opponents are still voicing their displeasure, including their argument that smoking should be allowed on outside patios. Businesses that don't prepare food can allow that, but many bars serve at least some food, forcing smokers to go outdoors to light up.
Kacy Smith, the owner of Tic Toc restaurant and bar in Cedar Rapids, says the number of cigarette butts that miss the ashtray outside her business has risen from about 20 per night to about 120 per night.
Residents across the state came together via the Iowa Communications Network Wednesday morning to express their passion for either side during a hearing hosted by the Iowa Department of Public Health, which is responsible for enforcing the ban.
Even though the bill passed the Iowa Legislature, was signed by Gov. Chet Culver and was enacted on July 1, those in attendance at the meeting mostly fought over the language in the bill rather than discussing the law's rules, which was the reason for the meeting.
"(One attendee) said, 'The place to rehash this bill is the election booth,' " state Sen. Tom Courtney, D-Burlington, said after the meeting. "He's exactly right."
Courtney, who attended the meeting and sits on the Administrative Rules Review Committee, said he hoped the discussion would have focused more on the area where he feels the rules did go beyond the law's intention: banning smoking on bar decks or patios.
Iowa and Illinois residents have been breathing easier ever since the Smoke-Free Air Act prohibted smoking in public places. And while most bars and restaurants are smoke free, one has ignored the law and is letting its patrons do the same.
At the West Burlington police station you can get a pamphelet on a smokefree Iowa or you can go right across the street to Otis Campbell's Bar and Grill and have a cigarette and dinner.
"I'm on the other side of the street literally and figuratively. I'm having people complain all the time about they're upset. They go in, they expect a smoke-free environment, they have to tolerate smokers," West Burlington police chief Alex Oblein said. . . .
"I'm not a criminal, I'm not running from anybody. I'm just fighting for the Constitution what almost all of us believe in," owner Larry Duncan said. . . .
The police chief says there have been at least 44 complaints against the bar. But none of those complaints have led to an arrest, a ticket or a fine. . . .
The state still has to give final approval to renew Otis Campbell's liquor license and the police chief says they are aware of his refusal to ban smoking.
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an expansion of the statewide smoking ban, a move that other municipalities in the state are also considering.
The proposed ordinance, which would need approval at two more readings to take effect, would ban smoking near the city's public library and a nearby playground, both of which are along the three-block Pedestrian Mall.
Smoking would also be banned in some park areas
Nearly two months after a statewide smoking ban took effect, Des Moines area bartenders report mixed results: Some see no change in business, others say profits are noticeably down.
Amber Todwin, a bartender at Stix in Ankeny, said summer months are always slow, but business at the pool hall has suffered since the ban. Since the bar has no patio, smokers hang out in front of the building. Some nonsmokers tell her it's even worse having to walk through the cloud of smoke to get in the bar than it was to sit in the ventilated area inside. . . .
Smoking is still allowed in fairgrounds, casinos and on bar patios. The patio rule is a stickler for many bars that also serve food, since the state defines a bar as a place that doesn't serve food. A coalition of bar owners, Choose Freedom Iowa, filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban.
Because the ban's passage was a majority of only the one-third of Ohio's eligible voters actually voting, it is disingenuous of The Blade to pass it off as a mandate.
More than seven weeks after Iowa's statewide smoking ban went into effect, the air around the new law still is clouded with confusion.
About 20 citizens, public health officials and business owners showed up to comment on the Smokefree Air Act at a public hearing held by video conference Friday in Council Bluffs, Creston, Elk Horn, Osceola, Shenandoah and Woodbine.
"We appreciate the benefits of the clean air," said LuAnne Heemstra, respiratory therapist at Clarke County Hospital and president of the Iowa Society for Respiratory Care. "I would like to encourage the Iowa Department of Public Health to keep the proposed rules the same." . . .
All of those exceptions have led to some confusion.
Iowa City officials will vote tonight on expanding the statewide ban and limiting smoking on city property.
The plan would ban smoking in municipal parking ramps; a section of the downtown pedestrian mall and the Iowa City Municipal Airport.
The ordinance would also outlaw smoking in several sections of parks in the city.
In essence, the bill is another large-scale effort by the federal government to tell us something we already know too well -- that smoking kills hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.
But in this case, we're simply not convinced it's necessary to grow the size of the federal government to deliver that warning.
For one thing, no amount of FDA regulation will change the fact that cigarettes, though deadly, even when used properly, still are a legal product for adult use.
And we'd much rather see the FDA spend its time, talents and resources concentrating on current, pressing issues . . .
We also question the value of the bill, even if it works as advertised, given that it contains a massive loophole for tobacco companies. . . .
We believe the Senate can't afford to get bogged down in a debate over tobacco at a time when several other critical issues are awaiting action. . . .
Any delay in flood assistance caused by a fight over tobacco legislation would be unacceptable. . . .
we think it's possible that new measures to curtail marketing, expand warning labels and increase education could be accomplished without growing government or over-stretching the FDA.
The Lee County Sheriff's office is offering a training class for local tobacco retailers on how to effectively refuse sales to minors.
The class is set for 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at the sheriff's office near Montrose.
The class will teach clerks the basics of Iowa's tobacco laws and the fundamentals of drivers license evaluation, age verification and situational evaluation.
Fraternal organizations, a fair group and a community college are among the businesses and institutions in eastern Iowa that received letters of potential violation of the statewide smoking ban since it went into effect July 1.
The Iowa Department of Public Health has received 728 complaints and sent out 89 letters regarding potential violations in the ban's first five weeks. Four businesses have received a second letter regarding a potential violation.
Five Clinton County bars have been sent letters, while five Scott County organizations and businesses were notified, as well as four, including Muscatine Community College, were sent letters in Muscatine County.
More than a month after the statewide smoking ban became law July 1, bar and restaurant owners in Creston are feeling the effects, both good and bad.
Most say their patrons have complied with the law, begrudgingly or not.
Norma Sammons, owner of Montgomery Street Pub, said her customers are not entirely happy . . .
Creston Family Restaurant Owner Mike Limani said their business has seen a mild improvement since July 1.
"We've seen somewhat of an increase (in customers)," said Limani. "The majority of our customers are nonsmokers."
Elm's Club co-owner Donna King agreed, saying the food sales in particular had improved in the past four weeks or so.
A statewide smoking ban has left the air inside many East Village establishments clean, but has turned some front doorsteps dirty.
Customer response to the statewide ban that went into effect July 1 has been mixed, area business representatives say, but an increase in cigarette butts on the ground is a universal complaint.
"It is definitely a concern," said J.C. Wilson, owner of the House of Bricks on East Grand Avenue. "On our busy weekends, it's kind of amazing how many butts are out there."
One month after the Smokefree Air Act went into effect, people on both ends of the Corridor say these are the most obvious changes, so far.
While some establishment owners and employees report an increase in business -- such as more families at mealtimes -- others say it's too early to tell, especially in a month marked by flooding that closed dozens of businesses in Eastern Iowa.
"I was worried about it. I thought it would be harder than it is," Jason Dingel, one of the owners of Irish Democrat Pub & Grill, 3207 First Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, said. "We've seen more business, period."
The front bar and back portion of the restaurant once reserved for smokers are now available to anyone, helping during lunch and dinner rushes