Source: Patriot Ledger, 2002-04-19

Smoking hearing snuffed;
Braintree Board of Health mutesrestaurateurs' venting
by KAREN ESCHBACHER

BRAINTREE - At a meeting restaurant owners and employees decried as undemocratic, the health board last night refused to reconsider smoking regulations that took effect this year.

The exchange lasted less than a minute: Chairwoman Jeanne Emond asked members Philip Nedelman and Mark Samuelson if they wanted to reconsider the ban. Both said no.

There was no opportunity for public comment.

More than 30 restaurant owners, employees and residents who had crammed into the second-floor meeting room sat mostly silent. They carried their messages on small, computer-printed signs: Please reconsider.'' Please bring back variances.''

As they left the meeting, the silence turned to anger.

They're not going to hear us at all?'' one woman complained.

This is democracy?'' another said.

Opponents of the smoking ban, which took effect Jan. 1, say it is stamping out business and stripping adults of their right to make their own choices.

The regulations prohibit smoking at restaurants, bars, town-owned beaches and parks, and any place with employees.

Under the town's old rules, smoking was banned in restaurants, although 17 establishments had been given variances, which ended Jan. 1.

The complaints and cries for more lenient policies echo those heard in Weymouth, which enacted a smoking ban last month. Objections in Weymouth have been particularly vocal and led to a raucous public hearing there earlier this month.

The Weymouth Board of Health is expected to agree to some form of variance next month.

But Emond said after last night's meeting that she and her colleagues in Braintree have no plans to budge.

Secondhand smoke is a public health issue,'' she said. It kills people. Since it's a health issue, we're standing firm.''

Emond said she understands businesses' concerns and would be  willing to speak to people informally. But she added that public hearings were held before regulations were put in place.

The restaurant owners, employees and residents who attended last night's meeting said they deserve to be heard.

The people elected them. We should have the right to speak,'' said Braintree resident Nancy Kennedy. Listen to everybody's opinion.''

As they spilled out of the meeting and into the town hall lobby, bartenders talked about tips that have been cut in half, owners said they are struggling to stay in business, and residents insisted that they should be able to enjoy a cigarette with a drink.

Representatives from about a dozen establishments attended the meeting.

Dianne Miller said her bartending job at Memory Lane is ideal because it allows her to spend days with her 4-year-old daughter. A packed bar always meant good tips, but now there are nights when only 10 customers wander in, she said.

She said the smoking ban is to blame because it drives customers to smoker-friendly communities like Quincy.

I went from making a very good weekly paycheck to making minimum wage,'' Miller said. I'm now making less than a McDonald's employee.''

Others said residents, not a few health board members, should decide whether the town is smoke-free.

It's awful,'' said Braintree resident Carol Birolini, a regular at Memory Lane. Everything is going to close. I think we have the right. It should be up to the people in the town.''

Braintree's smoking ban, approved by a 2-1 vote, sparked controversy largely because it initially was to have included the Braintree Municipal Golf Course. In response to complaints by angry golfers and concerns that profits at the course would plummet, the health board agreed to continue allowing smoking there.

Patricia Toomey, the only health board member to vote against the regulations, did not seek re-election this month and was replaced by Samuelson, a physician. Last night was Samuelson's first meeting.