Pr. George's Joins Ranks of Smoke-Free

Council members said they would revisit the legislation in 18 months to determine whether there has been any negative impact on businesses in the county.

At S&J Restaurant in Riverdale Park, owner Steve Schmidlin, 52, is worried. He attracts a largely blue-collar clientele from the neighborhood that likes to smoke while indulging in a mug of beer. He gathered 266 signatures from his patrons on a petition opposing the legislation.

"My biggest fear is that my customers are going to go to the clubs," said Schmidlin, estimating that 80 percent of his customers smoke.

Anti-smoking advocates, in testimony before the council yesterday, said smoking bans do not harm bars and restaurants. Some noted a report released last month by Montgomery that showed the county's smoking ban -- enacted in 2003 -- as having no significant impact on restaurant revenue or employment.

The results are similar in Talbot, which adopted its ban last year, said Janet Pfeffer, a community leader. She said there was an initial dip, when some restaurants suffered a loss of customers, but now business is thriving.

"For the past six months, our revenues have been up and higher than before the ban," she told the council.

Schmidlin said the county should have asked owners to put up signs declaring their establishments as smoke-free or smoking. This way, people could decide whether they wanted to go there, he said.

"I know that smoking is bad. Still, people should be able to make their own choice," he said.

For many residents at the hearing, a smoking ban was a critical decision -- not just for them, but also for future generations. Some brought their grandchildren. Others talked about relatives lost to cancer and smoking-related illnesses.

"This legislation will be a benefit for future generations," Leo Bruso, who lived in Prince George's for 35 years, told the council. Then, he played a recording of a coughing man.

"Cough. Cough. No smoking," it droned. "Cough. Cough. No smoking."