Committed to quit?

Oregon rang in the new year with a crackdown on indoor tobacco smoking, amending an older state law that let business owners decide the smoking rules in certain establishments, such as bars, restaurants and hotels.

Those days are over.

The new bill, which went into effect Jan. 1, was voted on by the state Legislature just over a year ago. The bill effectively prohibits smoking in all buildings in Portland.

According to the Web site for the state of Oregon, Portland’s new smoking ban is part of a larger movement to give all Oregonians a smoke-free work environment, whether they want one or not.

Suki’s Bar and Grill, located at 2401 S.W. Fourth Ave., reported some frustration with the new law.

“85 percent of our customers smoke, so they are not happy about it, and most of our staff smokes so we are not happy about it,” said Marci, a longtime bartender who requested her last name be withheld.

Suki’s was once known as a smoker-friendly bar near Portland State, but now the staff shudders at the consequences of the ban. “Business has been really effected already, especially the video poker,” Marci said.

However, many bars in Portland hadn’t allowed smoking for months—or even years—prior to the enactment of the law. McMenamins Market Street Pub, located at 1526 S.W. 10th Ave., reported seeing no drop in business, as their bar was smoke-free long before the ban.

Portland State students expressed mixed feelings about the ban.

PSU student Spencer Potter, 23, was happy with the new law. “I have asthma, and now I breathe better because I don’t have to inhale smoke when I drink,” Potter said, “Plus it’s nice that I don’t go home smelling like ass.”

Brian Peterson, 29 and a senior, remained apathetic on the issue. “I quit smoking about a year and a half ago,” Peterson said, “The ban doesn’t matter to me at all.”

Natalie Chapman, a 20-year-old sophomore, was unhappy about the added inconvenience of the bill.

“It’s kind of ridiculous to have to be so far away from doors to smoke,” said Chapman, an active smoker.

The new smoking ban also has additional provisions that outlaw smoking within 25 feet of doors, windows and ventilation systems.

Freshman Fallon Roderick, 18, was more concerned about the law limiting freedom. “I don’t like to smoke indoors, but other people should be able to,” Roderick said.

The ill health effects of secondhand smoke were the driving force behind the ban. According to Gwyn Ashcom, outreach coordinator at the Center for Student Health and Counseling (SHAC), the effects of secondhand smoke exposure include asthma attacks, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory illnesses.

“Secondhand smoke is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as [a human carcinogen] that contains more than 4,000 known chemicals, more than 50 of which are known to cause cancer,” Ashcom said in an e-mail.

Ashcom agreed with the legislators’ decision to expand the law to include bars and restaurants.

“The ban is important to make sure all Oregonians can work in a safer and healthier environment,” she said in the e-mail.

Most states that have implemented similar smoking bans have seen a small decrease in cigarette use within two years of implementation, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ashcom said she hopes to see more students seeking smoking cessation services at SHAC due to the ban.