Spokane could emerge over the next couple of months as one of the main battlegrounds in an intensifying statewide tobacco war, some of the likely combatants say.


Two groups, Breathe Easy, Washington! and the Entertainment Industry Coalition, have filed opposing initiative measures related to indoor smoking that could go before voters in November if they both get enough signatures by July 2.


Breathe Easys proposed Initiative 890, fashioned after a controversial smoking ban adopted in Pierce County earlier this year, would broaden the states Clean Indoor Air Act to prohibit smoking in all public places and in places of employment. It would repeal current laws that allow certain areasincluding entire establishments, in some casesto be designated as smoking areas.


The defensive-minded Initiative 891 being promoted by the Entertainment Industry Coalition, an Olympia-based lobbying group, also would prohibit smoking in public places, but only where minors are allowed. The employees of at least a couple of smoker-friendly establishments here reportedly are prepared to help gather signatures needed for that initiative, out of concern for their jobs.


The potential impact of the tobacco war is large, since the competing measures affect an industry that employs thousands of people in Spokane County and an estimated 110,000 people statewide, and that generates big tax revenues. That industry includes taverns, lounges, restaurants, bowling alleys, and other establishments licensed for games of chance. An estimated 60 percent or more of the patrons of those types of businesses smoke, compared with just 20 percent of the overall U.S. population, according to industry and advocacy group estimates.


Linda Matson, the Entertainment Industry Coalitions executive director, contends that Breathe Easys proposed initiative would cause major economic harm, particularly in cities such as Spokane that are near the state border and near exempt tribal casinos.


The last thing we need to do is pass policy that costs us jobs and tax dollars, she asserts. Its a huge economic issue, and in the final analysis, it has almost nothing to do with smoking. It has to do with choices, rights, and revenues.


Breathe Easy spokesman Dave Vance agrees with Matson that rights are central to the debate, but not from the perspective that establishment owners should have the right to decide whether or not they will allow smoking. Rather, he says, Breathe Easy believes that every worker in the state should have the right to work in a smoke-free space.


Health hazards


Citing the importance of eliminating the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, he says waitresses are more likely to die from lung cancer or heart disease than any other female occupational group, and bartenders are twice as likely to die of such causes as workers in other industries.


Also, he rejects the coalitions warnings of economic damage, saying studies done in New York following the implementation of a statewide smoking ban there showed that bar and restaurant revenues had grown sharply since the ban.


The coalitions Matson, however, questions such claims, arguing that studies done so far in jurisdictions that have banned smoking dont look at the number of establishments that have closed.


She says also that the economic effects of the New York ban have been softened by exemptions, and that in California, which also imposed a ban, The taverns that have survived have patios where people can smoke.


Matson contends that the Pierce County ban after which Breathe Easys initiative measure has been fashioned is the most extreme and punitive approach anybody has ever seen.


It includes $100 fines for minor infractions, larger fees for inspections, andif there are multiple infractionsadministrative hearings that can lead to temporary business closures, she claims.


Both groups filed their initiative petitions for statewide measures the day after the legislative session ended. A couple of smoking-ban bills had been introduced during the session, as in previous sessions, but failed to advance out of their respective committees.


Matson visited Spokane recently to help raise awareness of and generate industry support for the coalitions initiative drive. She says coalition members Bob Materne, Bob Ramelow, and H.T Higgins have agreed to spearhead that effort in the Spokane area. Materne is co-owner of The Swinging Doors, at 1018 W. Francis; Ramelow is COO and part-owner of 300 Inc., which operates Lilac Lanes, at 1112 E. Magnesium; and Higgins is president of Big Daddys, at 3023 E. 28th.


For Materne, the key issue is freedom of choice. If smoking is banned now, he says, Whats nextchocolate, french fries? I hate having big business or bureaucracy telling us what we have to do.


The Swinging Doors, a sports bar and restaurant that employs 46 people, derives substantial revenue from regulated gamingspecifically, pull tabsand he says those gamblers are mostly smokers.


If my gambling goes away, we may survive, we may not. Its an integral part of The Swinging Doors, Materne says.


He worries about a loss of business to the Kalispel Tribe of Indians Northern Quest Casino, which is exempt from state smoking laws and is located 15 minutes away in Airway Heights.


He estimates that more than 70 percent of his customers and 90 percent of his employees are smokers, and says, Im going to be turning some of my people loose to get signatures for the initiative (I-891), only because the other one would be disastrous.


Ramelow, at Lilac Lanes, says, We got involved because it would be devastating to our business if they took smoking out of the casino and bar.


Lilac Lanes includes a 32-lane bowling alley, restaurant, lounge, and a card room with 15 tables. It employs about 150 people. It went nonsmoking in the bowling alley and restaurant about a year and a half ago, but a high percentage of its card room and lounge customers still are smokers, Ramelow says.


Lilac Lanes opened the casino about six years ago, but minimum-wage and other cost increases have cut into profits, he says, adding, We just cant hardly afford any more hits, and if we lose 10 percent of our business, it would be devastating. He says he, too, will have a crew of people canvassing the neighborhoods for signatures.


Higgins says, My single biggest concern is that it wont be statewide because tribal casinos will be able to allow smoking, and that some of his customers also might head across the state line to the Coeur dAlene Tribes recently expanded casino, near Worley, Idaho.


Big Daddys includes a 16-lane bowling alley, newly refurbished restaurant and bar, and a card room, and employs about 140 people.


Economically, it would not only cost me dollars from the standpoint of casino revenues, but it also would cost citizens in the city of Spokane revenue as well because of hefty city taxes the pays, Higgins says. He believes employees will volunteer to help gather signatures because they know this would be almost like a final blow for them.


To be sure, gambling-dependent establishments possibly aside, not all Spokane-area restaurant and bar owners are convinced a statewide smoking ban would be a bad thing. More than 400 restaurants in Spokane County now are smoke-free, with Rock City Grill, in River Park Square, becoming one of the latest to join that list, according to the Spokane Regional Health District.


In a recent news release issued by the district, Rock City owner Jim Rhoades said, We have had numerous requests to ban smoking and are thankful to those who took the time to write us on the subject. Our ultimate goal is to provide the best environment for our customers and our employees.


Dr. Kim Marie Thorburn, the countys health officer, says she regards the growing number of smoke-free restaurants in the county as a strong indication of the publics preference for a more healthful dining environment. The 400 restaurants dont represent a majority of the food-service establishments in the county, but, The trend is in the right direction, she says.


Thorburn says that if a statewide smoking ban is adopted, she expects many restaurant and bar owners would see an upswing in business from nonsmokers, like her, who intentionally avoid establishments that allow smoking.


A clean indoor air program in place in the city of Spokane and in unincorporated areas of the county requires all food and beverage establishments to post smoke status signs in conspicuous locations near their entrances. A green sign means a smoke-free establishment, a yellow sign means smoking is allowed in designated areas, and a red sign means smoking is allowed throughout the establishment.


The program is administered by the regional health district, which also prints and distributes a Spokane Smoke-Free Dining & Entertainment Guide that lists smoke-free establishments and includes discount coupons from some of them.