B-Team applauds victory

By Molly Miron

Pioneer Editor

With the Beltrami County smoking ban ordinance in effect for two days, members of the B-TEAM gathered Monday to celebrate at a suddenly smokeless bar.

“We’re celebrating the fact that this is one of the locations where we can enjoy the great indoors,” said Warren Larson, standing in the bar of the Ground Round.

Larson is president of the Beltrami Tobacco Education Awareness Movement, which spearheaded the efforts culminating in the Aug. 12 Beltrami County Board vote on an ordinance prohibiting smoking in indoor public places and places of work. The ordinance took effect at midnight on Saturday.

The ordinance allows as exceptions, until Jan. 1, 2007, bars and restaurants, which can permit smoking between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. However, the B-TEAM verified last week that, in addition to the Ground Round, Country Kitchen, Union Station, New China and the Great Wall restaurants have also joined the 100-percent smoke-free club.

Zachery Krukenberg, general manager of the Ground Round, said customers welcomed the news of the change to a smoke-free environment when they came into his restaurant on Saturday. He said the first five tables asked to be served in the bar area because they had never been in that former smoking room before.

“Overall the reception has been very positive,” Krukenberg said. “There are other restaurants in our chain that have gone smoke-free and they have found that their lunch and dinner business has gone up.”

Besides, he said, during busy times customers used to have to wait for a seat in the non-smoking area. Now, the smoke-free bar area opens up 20 additional tables.

Larson said the B-TEAM has been working for about four years to change the community’s acceptance of smoking. A special focus has been to prevent teen use of tobacco. Karl Salscheider, Bemidji State University professor of health, said the educational effort has brought down the rate of smoking in Bemidji Middle School, although more high school students are smoking.

According to the survey of Healthy Communities Healthy Kids, the rate of smoking among Bemidji sixth-grade students dropped between 1999 and 2004 from 13 percent to 18 percent; among seventh-graders, from 18 to 11 percent; and among eighth-graders, from 25 to 9 percent.

The county ordinance tells young people that the smoking ban is a serious issue and that they should never start smoking, Larson said.

Salscheider said smoke-free workplace and public place policies also encourage smokers to smoke less or quit smoking.

Krukenberg said he has experienced that effect with his employees. Of about 12 who smoke, he said about half of them have made a New Year’s resolution to quit and have asked for referrals to agencies that can help them in their efforts.

Larson said North Country Regional Hospital will offer a smoking cessation course this month. For details, call the hospital’s education department at 333-5578.

Larson emphasized the importance of marketing Bemidji and Beltrami County positively as a smoke-free area.

“We want to make sure to do all we can to make sure the economy isn’t impacted,” he said. “Beltrami County is a leader in the state. It makes us an attractive place to vacation, and now visitors can enjoy pristine outdoor and indoor environments.”

As part of the celebration, the B-TEAM also launched a new web site at www.smokefreebeltrami.org.