Don't You Dare Light That Cigarette

Can't get your heart started in the morning without that jolt of hot java and a smoke? If you're sitting on the patio of your favorite restaurant—forget it.

Beginning March 8 it will be illegal to smoke in any type of commercial outdoor dining area in Los Angeles.

Two Los Angeles city councilmen stood in front of a Starbucks in Porter Ranch Thursday to announce the ban.

Councilmen Greig Smith and Tom LaBonge were joined by Starbucks management and supporters of the ban, which mandates a $250 fine for smokers who violate the ordinance. The ban does not apply to bars or nightclubs that require patrons to be over 18.

Smith's district includes Chatsworth, and LaBonge's district includes North Hollywood.

"Families with children should be able to enjoy outdoor dining without having to breathe in someone else’s secondhand smoke," Smith said in a statement. "This is about a partnership with diners and their customers, so that together we can achieve what is really a culture change."

Starbucks was chosen as the setting because the national chain is the single area business that decided to get a head start on banning smoking.

"Since June 2010, the patios and other outside areas of our stores in California have been smoke-free," said a Starbucks spokesperson. "We made this change because an increasing number of communities across California are restricting smoking in outdoor areas, and we’re pleased with how our customers have responded."

Smith got the legislative ball rolling in 2008, when he introduced a motion, seconded by LaBonge, that became law in January 2010, with enforcement to begin this year.

Since the law was passed, councilmembers have focused on coordinating with city and county agencies to inform the public of the ban. A recent motion co-sponsored by Smith and LaBonge seeks to have no-smoking "business signs, banners, brochures and other promotional materials" distributed citywide.

"All good things come through my committee, and Mr. Smith was instrumental to bring about good public policy," LaBonge, chairman of the Arts, Parks, Health & Aging Committee, said. "It's also great to be here in Porter Ranch, I love to look at the beautiful hills of Chatsworth."

Smith told Chatsworth Patch that the community generally favors the outdoor smoking ban at restaurants, although "some sectors, a handful of restaurant owners, including one who's a good friend of mine from Maria's Italian Kitchen, had opposed it."

The councilman noted that opposition to the ban was relatively weak because after years of anti-smoking measures throughout Los Angeles, "smokers know they must conform to society's needs."

Steve Gallegos, chairman of the Tobacco Free L.A. Coalition, said, "This policy sets an example. The city of Los Angeles has shown that it's a leader in protecting citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke."

Locals inside the Starbucks at Rinaldi Street and Corbin Avenue offered wary reactions to the issue.

"As a non-smoker, I like it," said Elizabeth Sellers of Chatsworth. "If I were a smoker, I might not have the same impression of it.

"There are fewer places now where people can smoke, and that's probably a good thing, but this is a free country," she added.

Another Starbucks patron said he regularly sees smokers at this location.

"I guarantee you within an hour you'll see 20 people sitting out there smoking," said Shawn, a Chatsworth resident, who declined to give his last name. "Starbucks wasn't enforcing [the ban], and the police aren't going to be wasting their time throwing smokers out."

The late Art Schlefstein, a founding member of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council and a well-known Realtor and local business owner, had championed the cause and requested that Smith pursue the smoking ban.

Only days before his death in August 2009, after a 15-year battle with prostate cancer, Schlefstein was still seeking information about the status of the proposed city ordinance.

"While visiting at his bedside, I promised that I would follow up and support the ban," Chatsworth Neighborhood Council President Judith Daniels said. "He had the smoking ordinance on a list of things he still wanted to accomplish. It's gratifying to finally see this come to fruition."

The American Cancer Society reports that tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds, 60 of which are known or suspected to cause cancer. It estimates 46,000 deaths from heart disease in non-smokers who live with smokers and about 3,400 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults each year.