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Beloit Smokers Comply With Ban

The one-year anniversary of Wisconsin’s smoking cigarettes ban is approaching, and city officials say the community for the most part has been in compliance.

Beginning July 5, 2010, it became illegal for smokers to light up in public places including bars, taverns, night clubs, rest rooms, and public transportation facilities in Wisconsin.

“I haven’t heard about many complaints at all from businesses,” said Beloit Deputy Police Chief Tom Dunkin. “For the most part, people just understand this is the law and they were compliant, which is good news.”

The City of Beloit primarily enforces the ban on a complaint basis, Assistant City Attorney Elizabeth Krueger said.

According to city ordinance, a representative from a smoke-free establishment should instruct any violators to refrain from smoking cigarettes and ask them to leave the premises if they do not oblige.

If the person continues to smoke cigarettes and refuses to leave, the representative from the establishment should notify the police department.

Since the ban, Dunkin said he only remembers receiving two complaints from the state notifying them of violations, and those complaints were turned over to the fire department.

“I really didn’t think (the ban) would be a big problem,” Dunkin said. “I honestly thought once the ordinance became known to people they would just obey it and that’s what occurred here in Beloit.”

Though the Beloit Police Department is the primary enforcement agency, the Beloit Fire Department also verifies compliance while conducting mandated inspections, according to the ordinance.

The fire department has conducted two inspections at all commercial businesses — one in November and one in May — since the ban went into effect, and fire inspector Dave Garner said he has seen very few problems.

In fact, all he can recollect is finding two ashtrays — one he believes at a bar and the other at an auto repair business. He said warnings were issued for those incidents.

“Compliance has been real good,” Garner said. “It kind of surprised me (the community) has been cooperating so well.”

If a citation is issued, Krueger said the fines range from $177 for the first offense up to $681 for the third or any subsequent offense for both the person smoking cigarettes and the establishment in which the person is smoking cigarettes.

She recalls just one man who she believes was written a citation for smoking cigarettes a cigarette in a bar.

In addition to City of Beloit officials, the Rock County Health Department also follows up on complaints and has seen about the same level of compliance.

“We’ve been really lucky,” said health inspector Jackie Phillips. “In the past year, we haven’t received any complaints of someone going into a restaurant or bar and smoking cigarettes in that facility.”

Dunkin believes the city’s ordinance allowing establishments to build outdoor seating areas for smokers may be responsible for the community’s high level of participation.

Some of the establishments that built outdoor seating areas included The Alibi Bar & Grill, 1180 S. Madison Road, and Domenico’s Italian Restaurant, 547 E. Grand Ave.

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