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September 2, 2012

Excise police not blowing smoke over state ban

Investigators study complaints, issue exemptions, dismiss false claims

Maureen Hayden CNHI

INDIANAPOLIS — Two months into a statewide smoking ban, the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission’s State Excise Police have fielded nearly 300 complaints about the new law being violated, with allegations ranging from businesses flaunting the law to the improper placement of ashtrays and “no smoking” signage.

But that may be a sign that the law is still in its infancy: Many of the complaints have been dismissed as unfounded or resulted in warning notices to give those covered by the new law some time to understand how to implement it.  

“Our goal is to get people into compliance with the law,” said Cpl. Travis Thickstun, a spokesman for the excise police, one of several agencies responsible for enforcing the law. “But we’re still in the education phase; there are still people who need help understanding what the law requires.”

The Indiana General Assembly passed a statewide smoking ban earlier this year, but it was laden with exemptions that confuse even those who thought they didn’t have to go smoke-free.

Social and fraternal clubs are among the 11 exemptions spelled out in the law. But more than a dozen across the state have been issued warnings by the state excise police for violating the smoking ban.

That’s because the clubs aren’t automatically exempt. To actually be exempt from the ban, club’s members have to take a vote, then file for an exemption that has to be approved by the excise police. Even then, there can be only one smoking room in the club and no one under 18 is allowed to pass through it to go to the bathroom or a nonsmoking area.

It’s unclear exactly how all the complaints have been resolved. The state excise police, which has only a few dozen officers in the field, hands off some of the complaints to local health departments to resolve.

Thickstun said the state excise police have approved about 1,000 exemptions so far for bars, taverns, casinos, cigar bars and other establishments eligible under the law’s rules that allow smoking in some places while banning at others.

Many of the complaints handled by the state excise police have come through their website, where complaints can be filed online (www.in.gov/atc). They investigate complaints only about violations of the state smoking ban; cities and counties that have their own smoking bans take care of complaints about their local bans.

Many of the complaints are aimed at businesses that may have allowed smoking where they shouldn’t have. But some of those complaints have caught by surprise those accused of violating the law.  

The management at Hoosier Lanes Strike & Spare in New Albany thought they were in compliance with the law when they cleared the bowling alley of all ashtrays, admonished any errant smokers and posted the state-approved “no smoking” signs throughout the building and on all public entryways.

“We even put [no-smoking] signs on the bathroom entrances and inside the stalls,” said assistant manager Dave Belden said. “We figured that would be the first place they’d cheat.”

The bowling alley’s managers knew the smoking ban applied to their bar inside the bowling alley. But they didn’t think the ban applied to their bar next door, which has a separate public entrance and is open only on Friday nights for karaoke.

But it does, as they learned after somebody filed a complaint and a warning citation was issued by the state excise police. Turns out the next-door bar and the bowling alley also share an interior door. So under the state’s smoking ban, both buildings have to be smoke-free.

Belden said the smoking ban has attracted some new customers to the bowling alley, but also driven some regular customers away, especially league bowlers who weren’t happy about having to change out of their bowling shoes and back into their street shoes so they could step outside for a smoke.

“I don’t know where they plan on going,” Belden said. “I don’t think there’s anywhere, anymore, you can bowl and smoke.”

Maureen Hayden is the Indiana Statehouse bureau chief for CNHI, the parent company of the Tribune-Star. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.

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