You can smoke 'em, if you buy 'em at tobacco shop

Smokers - and even many nonsmokers - are saying "Hurray!"

We can all go bowling or have a drink at any bar and not go home smelling like an ashtray, thanks to Illinois' Jan. 1 smoking ban in public places.

But wait a minute. People still are smoking in a 13-foot-by-15-foot room inside Forest Hills Lanes in Loves Park. How can they get away with that?

Operation of J's Tobacco Emporium is OK because it opened Dec. 28, three days before the law took effect, and it's an enclosed tobacco retailer.

Buy a product, enjoy it in-house

The business, which can accommodate eight or nine people and employs five people, is equipped with ashtrays, tables, a couch, a few chairs and a TV. The Emporium, a former supply room, sells cigarettes for $4.50 a pack, cigars, lighters and chewing tobacco in an enclosed room. Some vents take the smoky air out and others bring cool air in.

If you want to sit in the place and smoke, you have to buy a tobacco product, on which a sticker is placed, and pretty much smoke that product in the Emporium that day. You can't drink alcohol in the Emporium. It is open most days around noon for the lunch crowd, and around 9 a.m. on weekends and stays open until the bar closes, usually 2 a.m. You have to be at least 18 years old to enter the Emporium.

For the most part, it's working out fine, says owner Janet Segalla, who leases the space from bowling alley owners Mitch Sommer and his family.

"A certain amount of customers are satisfied that they don't have to go out" of the building to smoke, said Segalla, who formerly was a bookkeeper at another local bowling center. "And we satisfy the nonsmokers by keeping isolated."

Not all nonsmokers believe the Emporium is isolated enough, though. The Winnebago County Health Department is investigating a few complaints of smoke "seepage" into the bowling alley, said Larry Didier, tobacco program coordinator. There's only one door in the Emporium, and smoke may escape when customers come and go, he said.

Ah, customers. They're the bottom line for retailers, including bowling alleys. Sommer said the Emporium is a "mutual benefit for both of us."

Economy, weather add to whammy

Since the law went into effect, business has been down at Forest Hills Lanes, as well as at other local bowling alleys and bars, including Dodge Lanes in Belvidere and CJ's Lounge in Rockford. Owners and managers say the smoking ban isn't the only culprit. The cold and snowy winter, higher gas prices and the struggling economy are equal downers.

"It used to be that people would come in and stay and party for a few hours" before and after bowling, said Jayne Engelsen, manager of Dodge Lanes. "Now they are probably heading home," where they can smoke and save their money, she said.

Jim Colombi, owner of CJ's, said the bar's customers "seem to be going along with (the ban), accepting it, but not really liking it."

The law says smokers are supposed to be at least 15 feet from the doors of a public place before they light up and smoke. When I was there last week, it appeared that some of CJ's customers had been putting out their cigarette butts on sidewalks and snowbanks only three or four feet from the bar's side entrance. Colombi said he's waiting for the weather to break to hose down the area.

And Colombi is hoping for a turnaround in business within a week. "It seems to open up every year right after St. Patrick's Day," he said.

But business has been decent at Fifth Alarm Firehouse Pub in Byron since the smoking ban went into effect, said Kelly Franchino, manager and bartender.

Those who'd stayed away from the bar and eatery because smoking was allowed inside are customers now, she said. "It's because of the cleanliness," she said. "The smokers don't mind it even, because they didn't like the smoke, either."

Ask Geo runs Thursdays in the GO section of the Rockford Register Star. Contact columnist Georgette Braun at (815) 987-1331 or gbraun@rrstar.com.

A smoker and a bowler share their thoughts on J's Tobacco Emporium

Lori Higgs, 44, of Rockford, who works in shipping at a local distribution warehouse, bowls at Forest Hills Lanes in Loves Park and smokes Marlboro Ultra Lights in J's Tobacco Emporium.

"This is the best thing we ever could have done for the bowling establishment," said Higgs, who formerly managed the bowling center. "All the smokers said they would not bowl again" after the smoking ban. "Now we have to come get them out of here to get them to bowl," she said of the Emporium. "On our team, we take a break after the fifth frame" to smoke in the Emporium, she said.

Linda Lawver, 52, of Loves Park, a merchandiser, isn't a smoker and doesn't care much about the Emporium. But she's glad she can watch her daughter, K'Lynn, bowl at Forest Hills and elsewhere without having to inhale cigarette smoke.

"It's cleaner air, makes you feel better and smells better," she said.

Smoking ban complaints

The Smoke-Free Illinois Act, which took effect Jan. 1, prohibits smoking in public places and places of employment and within 15 feet of any entrance, exit and windows that open. Smoking is banned in taxis and buses, too.

The act also requires no-smoking signs that include where to file complaints to be posted near doors and windows that open.

Larry Didier, tobacco program coordinator for the Winnebago County Department of Health, said many complaints deal with the absence of signs being posted.

From Jan. 1 to 28, 128 complaints were filed with the department, with 68 complaining about lack of signage. The other 60 zeroed in on four locations with multiple complaints being filed, mostly bars and offices.

From Jan. 29 to Feb. 19, 31 complaints were made, divided between smoking and signage complaints.

From Feb. 20 to March 5, the latest date for which information is available, 44 complaints were made, most for smoking or signage issues, and 11 against "repeat offenders," Didier said.

Typically, the health department sends out an "educational letter" to first-time offenders. The second complaint warrants a warning letter and a notice that the health department will be checking things out. After that, Didier said, "We would consider fines."

Fines for individuals can be $100 to $250.

For businesses, the minimum fine is $250. A second offense within a year can cost $500. The third offense within a year can cost a minimum of $2,500.

Find more information, make a complaint

To find out more about Illinois' smoking ban and to reproduce signs to post in your workplace, eatery or bar, go to smoke-free.illinois.gov. To make a complaint, call 866-973-4646.

Locally, go to the Winnebago County Health Department site, wchd.org. To make a complaint, call 815-720-4246.