Smokers are stepping outside bars and restaurants to light up, and the state smoking ban that went into effect July 1 is going smoothly, according to law enforcement and backers of the new measure.
“The reports I’ve been getting from around the state is that the law seems to be self-enforcing,” said R.J. Ours, director of government relations with the American Cancer Society in Denver. “Business establishments have really taken the initiative to educate themselves and educate their employees and educate their patrons.”
Under the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, local police enforce the indoor smoking ban and ticket those who are in violation – the business owner or manager as well as the smokers.
Checks with Denver and other cities and counties around the state have found no citations, which would be a petty offense.
“I haven’t heard of any,” said George Epp, executive director of County Sheriffs of Colorado.
Police are relying on voluntary compliance and reporting, Epp said.
“It’s kind of like speeding: You expect there are going to be a few violations here and there,” Epp said. “But the major change the law is going to bring about is by significant numbers of people complying voluntarily.”
First-time violators face a $200 fine, a second violation is a $300 fine and a third $500.
The city or county that writes the fine receives 75 percent of the money and the state receives 25 percent.
Although the great majority of smokers are complying, they aren’t all pleased.
“I’m not too happy about it,” said Larry Tracy, 56, as he lit a cigarette outside Duffy’s Shamrock in downtown Denver. “I can handle it, but to come outside, it is a pain. I wish they would drop the whole thing.”
There are about 660,000 smokers in the state, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
And while most bars and restaurants began complying July 1, at least one held out: Smokers inside Orio’s Roadhouse in Durango didn’t extinguish their cigarettes until Thursday.
“Now the people at the bar, at least for the time being, are going to enforce the smoking ban,” said Craig Westberg, the La Plata County district attorney. “We have a cease-fire until the owners return from vacation.”
The roadhouse is claiming the cigar bar exception, which means at least 5 percent of its gross income comes from the sale of cigarettes or other tobacco products, excluding cigarettes sold from machines.
A man who answered the phone at Orio’s declined to comment.
In Colorado’s gambling towns, there has been a little confusion about an exemption that allows smoking in casinos.
At issue is whether the smoke-free area is only the casino floor, or whether it extends to bars and restaurants under the same roof.
“We’ve basically told our member companies that they need to confer with their own legal counsel and decide what is best for their own particular situation,” said Lois Rice, executive director of the Colorado Gaming Association.
But state House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, who helped draft the law, said its intent is that smoking be allowed only on gambling floors.
“My understanding was when it was drafted that it was just suppose to be the gaming area,” May said. “Whatever they are getting out of that, we will certainly clean it up next year if that’s the case. Hopefully, they will comply with the intent of the law and we won’t have to deal with it again next year.”
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
