Tougher rules for smoking areas irritate bar owners in Eugene, Ore.

EUGENE, Ore. — The designated smoking area is gasping for breath at some Eugene bars.

A new city ordinance tightening rules on smoking areas went into effect at the beginning of the year, and some area bars in this college town are struggling to adjust.

Bouncers shoo away smokers who stray into a 10-foot smoke-free area painted bright yellow on a smoking deck at Good Times Cafe & Bar. Redrawn borders have eliminated a smokers' outdoor haven at Latitude 21. And new perimeters have rendered an upstairs smoking area at Rennie's Landing obsolete.

Public-health officials, concerned about employee exposure to second-hand smoke, lobbied for the change. The ordinance prohibits outdoor smoking within 10 feet of doorways and requires that at least 75 percent of the square footage of smoking enclosures be open to outdoor air.

Many bar owners say they built their smoking areas in compliance with the city's previous rule, which put the requirement at 25 percent.

Now they say they have to make major alterations. Some have scrapped their smoking areas altogether.

Owner Alexandra Sianis said she spent about $22,000 to build an outdoor video-poker room at Latitude 21, a downtown bar formerly known as Joe's Bar & Grill, where patrons could also smoke.

"The area is nonusable for smoking now," said Sianis, who opposed the new ordinance at council meetings. "I've lost $22,000; plus, I've lost a substantial amount of business, especially with the video poker, because smoking and gambling seem to go hand in hand."

At Good Times, the high walls used to keep a smoking deck isolated from surrounding traffic have been pared down to 30 inches to provide the required amount of open space, manager Scott Trotter said.

"We've had a lot of complaints about it, and it's hurt business a little bit," Trotter said.

The city offered up to $15,000 to help owners of the 40 affected bars bring their smoking areas up to code, which prescribes fines of up to $2,000 per violation.

So far, most bars have been quick to make changes, said Laura Hammond, Lane County tobacco-prevention coordinator.

"I think it's actually a good thing; it's nice to be able to go into a place and not deal with smoke," said 36-year-old Matt Murphy, a self-described social smoker. "Still, I think that owners should have more of the say on whether people can smoke or not."