Hookahs keep on burnin’

by Rob La Gatta January 25, 2006

Before Washington’s indoor smoking ban went into effect last December, the outrage of smokers coupled with the questions of how the law could be fairly enforced seemed to show that on paper, Initiative 901 is a lot cleaner and more manageable than it is in practice.

Now more than a month into effect, the initiative appears to be leaving some gaps. Though the city’s concert venues and clubs have remained exclusively smoke-free, certain bars – evidence of which can be seen across Capitol Hill – have moved it outside, but not 25 feet away from windows, doors or air ducts.

Establishments that offer the hookah, a Middle Eastern tobacco pipe gaining popularity in America, also remain smokey. When asked over the phone, Zaina Food Drinks & Friends’ employees willingly acknowledged that they still offer hookahs at both their Pioneer Square and Third Avenue locations. Yet, next to the counter, signs indicate the owners’ acknowledgement that the law has taken effect.

An employee from B&O Espresso, a Capitol Hill coffee shop that also offered hookahs until the ban took effect, said that while his employer is looking to sell off their water pipes, they are no longer offering them for use in the shop to “comply with the [smoking] law.”

Enforcement of I-901 on Seattle University’s campus is another issue that has yet to be tackled. The smoking areas on campus have almost all remained identical to what they were before the ban.

Though the school posts signs saying where smoking cannot happen – usually within 50 feet from entryways – these have been present since long before the smoking ban and violations are frequent.

“The challenge is enforcement, and that’s true for many organizations,” said Catherine Walker, former vice president of administration and university counsel. “We don’t have security staff standing around the building entries to catch violators. We rely on peers to remind others to move away from doors.”

Walker said that students can report violators if they know their names, but otherwise very little can be done.

The “Smoker’s Pit” outside Campion Residence Hall is another smoking spot that poses a problem. The smoking area meets the requirement of being 25 feet away from the entrance of the building. But there are other parts of the building that the area is in violation of the law.

This includes the windows leading into the offices of Housing and Residence Life and student dorms from the second floor up. There is also a stairwell that exits less than 10 feet from the “Pit.”

According to Michel George, vice president for Facilities, the issue of enforcement on campus lies in the hands of Mike Sletten, director of Public Safety and Transportation.

Sletten said that he is part of an “SU Team” comprised of Housing & Residence Life, Faculty, Administration and Public Safety that is working on evaluating and fixing the campus to fall within the statewide law.

Still, King County Public Health officials believe that I-901 has had positive effects on the city.

“The law thus far has been a great success and advance for the public’s health,” said Roger Valdez, manager of King County’s Tobacco Prevention Program. “We have had very few problem spots, but given the size of our county we think compliance has almost been complete.”

Valdez did acknowledge that certain techniques that some establishments have used – like allowing smoking outside bars where patrons can take their drinks – are defying the law because the area is not 25 feet away from the entrance. Still, he said, when they are contacted they will comply.

“We have had about 250 complaints and we have had about 150 businesses we have communicated with,” said Valdez. “We have made about 40 visits, and have had almost complete compliance either by the time of the visit or by the time we left.”

I-901 is on the books after it was approved by more than 63 percent of Washington State voters last November.

Though it was praised by anti-smoking advocates across the country, coverage and awareness of the issue dropped off after it went into effect. Whether Seattle residents can expect to see stricter enforcement around the city as we move into 2006 remains to be seen.