Smoking inside bars has been illegal in California since 1998. Now, the smoker’s outdoor refuge in San Francisco could also go up in smoke.
“I know there will be some regulars who will be like, ‘what the fuck, you can’t smoke out there anymore?’” said Ryan McGrath, a bartender at the Inner Sunset Temple Bar, where plenty of ash trays sit in the patio’s designated smoking section.
“But I don’t think it’ll make the craziest difference.”
Others see it differently. Supervisor Myrna Melgar called her ordinance to prohibit smoking on outdoor patios at bars an effort to “clean up” the city’s code by bringing it into compliance with more recent updates to state law, and to “close the loophole” currently provided to outdoor patios.
The benefits will likely be debated on many a patio over the next few weeks as the Board of Supervisors considers the change, first introduced April 7.
“It will be detrimental to the bar business,” said Corey Grosklos, a bartender at the Blarney Stone on Geary Boulevard in the Richmond, which hosted a handful of regular smokers one recent weeknight.
“I understand there are health concerns,” Grosklos said, “but having a patio — that helps your bar.”
Melgar’s amendment would also ban smoking from certain indoor spaces like some hotel rooms to reflect changes made at the state level. While there is no statewide prohibition on smoking on outdoor patios in California, Oakland and over 100 other municipalities have enacted such a ban.
The Oakland law, as well as Melgar’s ordinance, references research done by local advocacy group LGBTQ Minus Tobacco.
The study the group conducted for San Francisco, in partnership with UCSF researchers, found that six of nine bar patios visited in the city had unhealthy air quality levels. The study has not been formally published, but is also noted on its website.
“San Francisco has historically been a leader in tobacco prevention legislation, but has fallen behind others when it comes to protecting bar workers and patrons from exposure to deadly second hand smoke,” said Brian Davis, who served as project director for LGBTQ Minus Tobacco and now continues to work as a volunteer.
Another volunteer, Joseph Andrew Hayden, said he’s lost family members to smoking. He said he goes to gay bars with patios like the Lone Star and the Eagle, and festivals like Bearisson and Folsom, where smoking is commonplace.
“I just will not subscribe to the school of thought that this is part of gay culture,” Hayden said. He said he’s surveyed people including friends who said “that it would be easier for them to quit if they themselves were not surrounded by it.”
As for Hayden: “I know that I would be much more likely and much more comfortable if I could go out to these places and actually inhale.”
Dr. Sarita Satpathy, President of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society, also spoke in support of the ordinance. Referring to research by the Centers for Disease Control, Satpathy said, “There is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke.”
Some bars already have a no-smoking policy for their patios.
Casements bar and restaurant in the Mission has never allowed smoking in its spacious patio — “because you can’t have smoking and food together,” said bar manager Mo Huynh.
Huynh also spoke with Davis in support of the ordinance, and told Mission Local later that the smoke-free outdoor patio has been good for business.
“It would just distract from the great smell of our French onion soup and our fish and chips,” Huynh said. “We want everyone to feel welcome and not feel like it’s a dive bar.”
Bars like the Blarney Stone, however, appear firmly in the divey camp. As with smoking indoors, the local business owners there would bear the responsibility of enforcing the restriction, subject to the same penalties.
Patrons smoking outside at the Blarney Stone also came to the patio’s defense. One regular, who comes from a few neighborhoods away, said he’d likely come to the bar less if he couldn’t enjoy a smoke on the patio. Another said she prefers the privacy of the backyard to the sidewalk. The pair declined to give their names.
Richmond resident Dominic Tomasini was also out smoking on the bar’s patio, looking after a dog. Tomasini had apparently had a couple of cold ones before offering his opinion.
“I think it’s a despicable nanny state overreach into private business affairs,” Tomasini said bluntly. He went on, and at some point, the dog at his feet began to heave.
“People are gonna smoke regardless. You take away this spot and everybody’s just gonna go out on Geary.”
The dog then threw up, right there on the patio.
In a time when many bars are struggling, I don’t see how this is beneficial. Bars are not inherently “healthy” places, and having a dedicated area where people can smoke should not be banned outright at the city level. This should be the bar’s decision, not the city’s. Let people have their vices within reason. Adding more rules and restrictions will do more harm than good to business, and SF overall.
Tomasini fellow makes a clear, cogent, and ultimately persuasive case. I for one, agree with him. This article makes me sad for both people and the world. Stop the smoking patio ban!
Amazing with all the issues with the city, melgar is wasting time pushing this absolute garbage.
It’s outdoors at a dive bar. Stop the overreach.
I personally find smoking nasty but give me a break. Some bars DON’T allow it outside because it’s good for their business. Some bars DO allow it outside because it’s good for their business. Let the bars decide and patrons can vote with their feet.
I don’t smoke, and I don’t like the smell of it, but I think this should be up to the bar owners. I’d rather go to place like Casements where I can sit outside unbothered, but I don’t see why other bars shouldn’t have a different policy if that works for them and their patrons. Nobody is forced to be on the patio and be exposed to second hand smoke. I don’t buy the argument about protecting bar workers either – I don’t know of any dive bar with table service on their smoker patio.
Wow, this is ridiculous in so many ways.
First of all, this is not about indoor second hand smoke at all – smoking indoors is already banned, and I support that 100%. In fact, smoking is currently banned by local
ordinance even in outdoor areas of restaurants. This is really about which outdoor location is the better choice for smokers patronizing adult-only venues serving alcohol — which is in itself a cancer causing substance. People aren’t going to a bar for health reasons! I’d much rather have smokers smoking outdoors on a back bar patio instead of smoking out front on the sidewalk in front of random passersby, and blocking the way of patrons who would like to utilize the smoke-free indoor portion of the bar.
Secondly, it is totally illogical that the City would move to ban OUTDOOR tobacco smoking on bar patios at the exact same time they are considering legalizing INDOOR marijuana smoking at cafes. And yes, marijuana smoke is considered cancerous by the State of California, and some studies have even shown that second hand marijuana smoke is more dangerous than cigarette smoke.
If some bars feel that banning smoking on their patios makes sense, then great! They should absolutely do that. But if others feel that doing so would hurt their business, then we should stand up for them. Our local businesses have struggled enough as it is.
This would be amazing and life changing! Hope it passes.
Still chuckling at the last line — well written!
Would this ban apply to pot? How about vaping?
Lord God almighty – save us from the “advocacy group”.
I don’t smoke but this article makes me want to start.
While we’re at it, let’s ban alcoholic beverages from being served in bars.
Alcohol is just as unhealthy (perhaps even more so) as smoking.
And what about marijuana? It’s medicinal!
Advocacy groups rarely want to mention that pot smoke has just as many weirdo chemicals and compounds as tobacco – which, at least some, indigenous people viewed as medicinal also.
Ugh – do something useful like figure out how to cut down on pedestrian carnage in our streets.
To prioritize this is complete insanity. Stop people smoking pot (who don’t have the money) and playing the lotto (who especially don’t have the money) while you are at it.
What’s up with the ending of the article? Dog puked… who cares. This is poorly written.
Thanks for reading to the end, Elizabeth.
JE
I hereby disparage “temple bar”, formerly blackthorn. I hear it’s good for pool league but surely nothing else. Worst qualities of crappy dive bar combined with worst qualities of corporate sports bar. In my professional opinion as a scummy barfly I recommend all of their tobacco smoking regulars should abscond a nearby Irving street bar where you can smoke and do god knows what else in the easily accessible rear parking lot. Bonus, it opens at 6am. Additional bonus, there’s a laundromat next door. Giddyup!!
Hey, Nicholas,
You should toss a Kudos to former Board of Supe’s prez, Angela Alioto who wrote the original SF law and took some serious heat for her actions.
h.