Private-club exemption burns hole in smoking law

BOISE – Although Idaho has a new law in place banning smoking in restaurants, some establishments are trying to skirt the issue by charging a nominal fee and calling themselves a private club.

While the vast majority of restaurants in Idaho have banned smoking, some complain that the few that now call themselves private clubs are taking customers away from those that are obeying the new law.

The Department of Health and Welfare begins a series of meetings around the state this week to discuss the rules restaurants must follow.

Some anti-smoking proponents want the rules to outlaw smoking clubs, but the agency is not allowed to stretch beyond the laws that authorize them.

Earlier this year, state Sen. Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, led the effort to pass the Idaho Clean Air Act, which bans smoking in all public buildings except bars, bowling alleys and “buildings owned and operated by social, fraternal, or religious organizations.”

The law went into effect July 1, authorizing a $100 fine on a business that violates the law and a $50 charge on any individuals who break the rules.

Clanky McCool is the owner and cook at the Sav-On Cafe in downtown Boise, one of the four Boise restaurants to declare themselves private.

When the ban went into effect July 1, McCool slapped a handwritten “Private Smoking Club” sign in his window, charged $1 for membership, and lets his customers puff away.

“You know that old adage about you can’t fight city hall? Well, I think you can, and I think you can win,” he said.

McCool was one of the first to look at the private club exemption and realize there could be a loophole.

Since then, he has drawn smoking customers over from newly smoke-free restaurants.

Now it’s the Sav-On — not the Sunrise Cafe — where 70-year-old Fred Blakely spends three hours a day smoking, drinking coffee and reading the paper. Blakely has been smoking since he was 10.

“I quit once,” he said. “It was the worst two hours of my life.”

Hill may have intended that the “social organization” language be similar to the state’s liquor laws regulating private clubs like the Elks or Eagles. But the law uses different language and does not specifically require a strict interpretation.

Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Department of Health and Welfare, said he hadn’t heard of a single citation from around the state.

Most restaurant owners have embraced the change after some initial concern, including Eddie Bird, owner of Eddie’s Restaurant.

“We were a little anxious, a little worried about it,” he said, but “Things have been going A-OK, actually. The upkeep is going to be nicer, the employees are going to be healthier.”

Outside of the new “social club” phenomenon, no one seems to be reporting lawbreaking businesses or smokers.

The Health and Welfare Department meetings began Monday in Boise and continue Wednesday in Coeur d’Alene; Thursday in Lewiston, and in the next few weeks in Pocatello, Idaho Falls and Twin Falls.