By Jessica Johnson
Contributing Writer

In June, the Sullivan’s Island Town Council passed an indoor workplace smoking ban to protect the health of workers.

With the ordinance going into effect July 20, owners of eating and drinking establishments wonder how the ban will affect the health of their businesses.

According to 2004 statistics, about 25% of adult South Carolinians smoke. Poe’s Tavern customers fit that statistic, at least during dining hours. Manager Sean Daniher said about 10% to 20% of customers request the smoking section for dinner. But that demographic changes once the kitchen closes at 10 p.m.; Daniher estimates the number of smokers climbs to 50%.

“We have enough outdoor seating that (the ban) is not really going to affect us; that’s what we are hoping,” Daniher said.

The Sullivan’s Island ordinance only prohibits smoking in areas with enclosed walls.

Studies performed on cities including New York and Boston after an indoor smoking ban showed no negative impact on bars and restaurants, according to a U.S. Surgeon General’s report on second-hand smoke, “The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke.”

Station 22 Restaurant on Sullivan’s Island went smoke-free voluntarily in May 2005 and has seen no ill effects. Owner Marshall Stith said he wished he had done it sooner.

“Customers were overwhelmingly in favor of what we did,” he said.

Instead of a decline in customers, Stith said he thinks he has seen an increase.

A patio is available for smoking, and Stith said he has seen smokers excuse themselves from their tables to use it.

“I think morally it was a good decision and business-wise it was a good decision,” Stith said. “We did the right thing for our employees and our customers.”

While Stith said his customer base increased with a voluntary smoking ban, a local bar owner fears his numbers will do the exact opposite come July 20.

“It’s going to impede me greatly,” said Bert’s Bar owner Tim Runyan. “The customers I have now are vehemently opposed to it. I expect to lose a great deal of business. I won’t be surprised if I go out of business.”

Unlike other Sullivan Island establishments, Bert’s Bar is without a porch or outdoor smoking area and he has nowhere to build.

The neighborhood bar is a place for working men, Runyan said. Painters, contractors and boat builders often unwind after a laborious day. And most customers do so with a cold brew in one hand and a cigarette dangling from the other.

A Minneapolis study of the impact of a smoke-free workplace published by the city in March partially confirms the fear.

After Minneapolis went smoke-free in March of 2005, food and drink sales increased more than they had in the past. However, when evaluating sales by business type, sales decreased 4.5% in neighborhood bars.

Runyan’s smoking customers would take up new habits and cross the bridges to smoky bars in Mount Pleasant and Isle of Palms, he said.

Dan Carrigan, executive director of the Smoke Free Action Network, would like to make the entire area smoke-free. Surveys of tourists and residents showed that tourists would come regardless of smoke-free environments.

“We really want to see this pass in larger population areas such as Charleston, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant, because that is where the most affected workers are,” Carrigan said.

Whether neighboring towns fall in step with the smoke-free environment trend, Sullivan’s Island Town Administrator Andy Benke thinks new customers will replace lost ones.

“There might be some hardcore smokers who go elsewhere, but (a ban) brings more people out who maybe passed on a certain restaurant because it was a smoking environment,” he said.

Stith expects an adjustment period initially, he said.

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