Need Your Help....

[ryno]

I live in Fort Wayne, IN and they have a city wide smoking ban. You can smoke in stores if a certain percent of revenue is made from tobacco/acessories. Not sure on the exact percent though.

[evilded777]

Rhode Island, State law... no smoking indoors, I think; except for the two legal gambling establishments, because they paid off the right people (it is Rhode Island, afterall; smallest state in the union, with the highest ratio of corrupt politicians per square inch). There are at least 3 hookah lounges, however. And there is a cigar bar that seems to be opening just down the street from me. So there ARE ways around the law, and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with grandfathering.

Details

[r1v3th3ad]

Philadelphia law enacted Jan 8th, 2007 a ban on smoking in almost all workplaces, including in all restaurants and bowling alleys. exempts taverns where food accounts for less than 10% of sales and alcohol accounts for more than 90% of sales.

PA State law was a partial ban passed on June 13th, 2008. The new law exempts taverns and bars where food accounts for less than 20% of sales and alcohol accounts for more than 80% of sales, established private clubs where the officers vote to allow it, and on 25% of gambling floor space at casinos; the bill passed also would not allow for more stringent regulation by county and municipal governments. Only Philadelphia's Clean Indoor Air Worker Protection Law is exempt from this restriction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_smoki...s#cite_note-157

thats what I was gonna say
...isnt it 20%?
so they aren't making exemptions mush?
check out PAs because I think smokeshops are exempt...The Beehive Coffeeshop made their third room "Smokers' Paradise" to get around the smoking ban...worked so far

[Nikon1323]

I go to school at NIU and Illinois and they have the smoking ban going on...however i have smoked at Samah hookah bar in chicago and the hookahcorner here on campus that are still open dispite the ban on indoor smoking because the state said if smoking is their primarly business that it was ok

[inino]

Here is the answer!! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=88031230
I mean most of your customers probably fit the part considering its a crazy college town.

[srawas89]

Dont know if this has been said but in Ohio if you are a business that can be classified as a smoke shop (you get x% in revenue from tobacco sales) you can smoke inside that shop.

However I do know that you serve alcohol in the same area so you may be considered as a bar depending on which is your major source of revenue and you may not be able to serve alcohol and keep the shisha bar going. But I could be wrong and thinking about food and smoking...

[MechAnt]

Contact Bubbacigars. His state underwent some ban and he was able to fight through it.

In California, they banned smoking indoors but I believe there's something where if a majority of your sales are tobacco based, then it's ok. Contact Eric for more info on that.

[cotsi95]

mush in Colorado theres a state wide ban but it allows retail tobacco shops to offer in house sampling. As long as 80% of sales come from tobacco it doesnt matter. In Fort Collins Colorado they banned them but allowed the narg and the other hookah bar to stay open but no more can be opened.

[redjako]

http://www.myspace.com/dthl_profile
http://www.myspace.com/thehukabar

Two local hookah bars trying to fight our recent smoking ban to get an exemption..nothing happening yet though.

[Sonthert]

In New York, the hookah bars just take the fines that are levied against them. Keep bitching at them. If you can keep the tobacco revenue part between 50-60%, you might be OK.

[Click]

My city, Burbank evoked a city-wide smoking ban in all public places yet the two hookahs bars in the city continue to operate smoothly.  They are exactly in the downtown part of the city in the middle of all people the ban was created for in the first place.  

The municipal code for the ban is on page 19-23 of this PDF

http://www.ci.burbank.ca.us/cityclerk/bmc%...d/Title%204.pdf

The two hookah bars are: 


Cafe O: http://www.cafeolounge.com    (818) 841-3333

Gitana: http://www.cafegitana.com        (818) 843-8339

[ilikemyusername]

here in bradenton fl. we have a place called "FLAME" lounge, although i think now it might be called the cellar or some such, anyway, its a lounge, and fl. passes the smoking ban a couple years ago.
hope it helps, if you want more info i'm sure i can find out.

[jhanzair]

I don't know if this helps, but in the whole european union indoor smoking has been banned for some time now. However, if you get a proper ventilation system you can have a permit to allow your establishment to have indoor smoking - they even give you a blue sticker with a cigarette picture

[Boricua]

Here in DC smoking is banned period. Still, there are a couple of hookah bars.

One in particular: Gazuza http://www.worldsbestbars.com/public/venue...entVenueId=1555

I went there to smoke once and while usually they would let me smoke inside, they told me that their 'license' hadn't come in yet for that month so I could only smoke in their patio. So that might be something to look into. Good luck!

[Sylren]

I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada. We have a smoking ban but still have hookah bars. I think All of Canada is non-smoking.

[DrunK]

In Arizona you can't smoke in or within 20 feet of a business. There are a number of hookah bars though. I'll try and find more information.


Edit:

You're exempt if you are considered a tobacco retailer.
http://www.smokefreearizona.org/exemptions.asp
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/n...ingban0501.html
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/47225.php

http://www.azdhs.gov/diro/admin_rules/smoke_free_rules.pdf

i second this he beat me to it

[kornkitten42]

Not sure if it's been covered, but Florida was among the first states to adapt smoking bans like 7 years ago. We aren't allowed to smoke in doors, but hookah bars got an amendment and are allowed indoor smoking and they allowed to serve food and alcohol as well.

Not sure about the statues / state laws on it but it might be worth looking into.

I hope this helps you somewhat. Good luck man.

Edited April 16, 2009 by kornkitten42

[mix_tape]

Calgary has a smoking ban but all out lounges are herbal now. They somehow fought through but had to change all their tobacco to herbal in order to keep the hookah bar open.

[Sylren]

Calgary has a smoking ban but all out lounges are herbal now. They somehow fought through but had to change all their tobacco to herbal in order to keep the hookah bar open.

Huh? Was this very recent? Because I went about a month ago and they where all still tobacco.

[ih303]

South Dakota just passed a smoking ban similar to others mentioned here where the majority of your business must be tobacco.

I hate to say it, mush, but you may have to choose between smoke and booze. These bans seem to be the inescapable fate of all our states.

[TexasHookah]

Houston doesn't allow indoor smoking either. They way around it is to have a patio where smoking is allowed. Or else if you don't serve alcohol, then you could be a specialty tobacco shop where smoking is allowed inside such as cigar shops. You have to have adequate ventilation systems in place. I don't know if that helps or not.

[PJCrusader]

Well I did some basic research. Here in Illinois we have a smoking ban. Smoking is banned in "all public places" but
I found this exemption on the Illinois website.

Retail tobacco stores that derive more than 80 percent of its gross revenue from the sale of tobacco products and do not have a liquor, food or restaurant license.

http://www.smoke-free.illinois.gov/sf_info_faq.htm


Hope this helps

[Tyler]

In Ohio, Cincinnati, you have to make 60% of your sells from tobbaco products.

[mix_tape]

Calgary has a smoking ban but all out lounges are herbal now. They somehow fought through but had to change all their tobacco to herbal in order to keep the hookah bar open.

Huh? Was this very recent? Because I went about a month ago and they where all still tobacco.

From my understanding its always been herbal since the smoking ban was put into effect thats the deal they came to with the government. I could be totally wrong but where the heck are you smoking haha. I have to get in on that.