May 21, 2003 - The mayor's proposal to ban smoking in all indoor public places is shaking up the local hospitality industry, which is still trying to pick up the pieces from a slow economy, war and terrorist attacks. 

Many restaurant owners have said the proposed ban in eateries, bars, hotels and clubs could drive even more customers away, especially foreign travelers that tend to smoke more than Americans. 

The current smoking ordinance requires that 70 percent of any restaurant that seats more than 50 people must be nonsmoking. Mayor Ed Garza has been a recent proponent of a tougher ordinance, and the Smoke-Free San Antonio Coalition has called for a smoking ban in all indoor public places, citing beneficial effects for public health. 

Some recent reports from cities that enacted smoking bans suggest that business has been hurt by the tougher ordinances. 

In January, Dallas' City Council passed a smoking ban in restaurants, which exempts stand-alone bars, pool halls and tobacco shops. Mark Maguire, an owner of two Dallas restaurants with bars and incoming president of the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association, said 90 percent of the bar business in his north Dallas restaurant is gone. 

Patrons, Maguire said, are going to the city of Addison, which has no smoking ban and is located across the highway from his restaurant. 

"You can cite statistics from California, Arizona and New York, and what we said all along is that this is Texas and not California," Maguire said. "Texas is different. (Dallas) posed a ban where none was needed." 

But Paul McIntyre, a former public affairs adviser for the California Restaurant Association, said he changed his stance while at the association when the Environmental Protection Agency reported in the early 1990s that cigarette smoke was designated a carcinogen. 

Soon after, McIntyre said, California cities started enforcing smoking ban ordinances, while surveys said the ban wasn't negatively affecting tourism. The bottom line, he said, was restaurants weren't losing money. 

Many of the fears San Antonio restaurant owners have regarding a stricter ban, McIntrye said, were the same fears California restaurant owners had. Airlines adjusted well to the smoke free bans, he said, and so did California eateries. 

But the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce prefers to leave the city's current ordinance in place. 

"The current ordinance is working and promoting more smoke-free areas in the city," chamber officials said Tuesday in a statement. 

The chamber said it has heard from many groups including the Smoke-Free Coalition and supports the 1997 local ordinance on smoking restrictions, which had the backing of the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and American Lung Association. 

The chamber said nearly 58 percent of the 400 members surveyed supported the current ordinance and to allow local businesses to determine their own smoking policy. 

A North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce survey of its members showed that most wanted to keep the current smoking ban and to put the issue before voters -- not the city council -- to decide. 

Suzanne Lozano, chairwoman of the Smoke Free San Antonio Coalition, said it's a "weak argument" coming from the hospitality industry that a ban will hurt businesses. 

Lozano said other major convention cities that are already smoke free, such as San Diego, are reporting no lost business or decrease in conventions. Foreign travelers, she said, shouldn't be the main concern, but rather the health of the people who live here. 

Dale Wood, incoming president of the San Antonio Restaurant Association and owner of Italia Ristorante on the River Walk, said the mayor's proposal isn't effective and a stricter ban really needs to be thought out before being passed. 

Wood said the mayor's proposal would put smokers in jeopardy if they were walking in front of River Walk restaurants and venues. The proposal states people can smoke outside of enclosed buildings as long as they are 25 feet away from doors and windows. He said 25 feet away from River Walk businesses would put someone in the river. 

A public hearing on the proposed smoking ban will be heard at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in City Council chambers. 

Michael Sawaya, president of the San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association and general manager of the Omni San Antonio Hotel, said no one wants to put health in front of a business issue, but the city should give businesses a choice. 

In fact, Sawaya said, the demand for smoking-only areas is significantly less than what it used to be. He said most hotels are required to have 25 percent of rooms designated for smokers, but his property only has 10 percent because the demand for these rooms isn't there. 

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(c) 2003, San Antonio Express-News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.