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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0013.040 2002-2004 Frame 10 ~.n LIMITED PARTNERSHIP 75-559/ /'ALAN/ROAD, .SUI lC2OI - _ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pl/ONC (SOS) 32~09/I KA//,UA-KDNA, F/AW1// 9(1740-3632 /n,r (808)329-09/3 -MA//,: C%AC~447. RONC.COM RECEIVl1 nm._ $ 04a.m. eY--.-_.... April 30, 2003 D.s D~T43__ - CauMy Caundt REVISED Dr. Fred Holschuh Chair of Human Services & Economic Development Committee 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 RE: 1311/ 260 Notation of Testimony (hard copy to follow) Please consider the following testimony concerning Bill 260 which would make all restaurants, bars, and bowling alleys smoke-free. I understand this bill will be discussed at your County Council meeting on Tuesday, May 6, 2003 Smoke Free Business -Profit or Loss Introduction Kona Bowl opened its doors in February of 1987. At the time of our opening, [would guess that about 20% of our bowlers were smokers. Over the six years following, we spent thousands of dollars purchasing smoke eaters, ozone machines, etc. in an effort to "deal with" the smoke and health issues without significant relief. After just walking through the center, clothing wreaked with the smell of cigarette smoke. Pinsetter machines were literally gummed up from the smoke. By the time we decided to take action in 1993 and implement a no-smoking policy, the percentage of bowlers smoking in our center drastically increased to where about 85% of the patrons were smokers. After receiving numerous complaints of smoke problems, including a mass exodus of non- smokers from our bowling center, we decided that we had to take responsibility in assisting patrons as well as employees who were non-smokers by implementing a no-smoking policy. Our facility was and still is a family entertainment center open to all ages, which made it even more important to address this problem. At that time in our society, one had to be very careful about discriminating against smokers. However, we were now confronted with a growing but unknown liability of secondhand smoke's effects on non-smokers, especially in light of an EPA report that was released January 7, ]993. This report declared that secondhand cigarette smoke is a human carcinogen and kills about 3,000 nonsmokers a year because of lung cancer. It also increased the risk of pneumonia and bronchitis in children, according to the report. Comm. No. ~ Ref. TohMa~ Ref. Date Dr. Fred Holschuh April 30, 2003 Page 2 Kona Bowl Goes Smoke-Free! In June of 1993, we implemented our no-smoking policy. We almost had no choice but to do something about the problem. At the time, we were the first in the State and probably one of the first in the Country to be a completely smoke free bowling center. We also decided that smokers could continue to smoke, but only in designated areas. We created a comfortable smoker's lounge complete with sofas and coffee tables, ashtrays, cigarette machine, and video games. This area was restricted to adults only - no minors allowed. Another area where patrons could smoke was Parrot's Lounge. They could also step outside the entrance to our bowling center to smoke. Everywhere else in the center including rest rooms and administrative offices was made smoke free. Besides the obvious health issues, other positive impacts to our business included: a. Pinsetters having less jams due to stickiness of the equipment, thereby requiring less maintenance. b. Air filters are being cleaned on a less frequent basis. c. Cigarette burns on furniture are no longer aproblem- d. The walls, floors, and furnishings of the bowling center are a lot easier to keep clean. e. Bowling in general needed a new customer base, hoping to appeal to people who don't bowl or who have stopped bowling because of the smoking. Following implementation of our no-smoking policy, the overwhelming response was positive. However, as expected, we were met with some resistance to our policy. Some people threatened to quit bowling. Others threatened to keep smoking and ignore our policy. Coincidentally, business started to decline as much as 20% since the policy was implemented. However, we believed that it was the downturn in the economy that contributed most to the decline. We thought that ultimately we had to do something or else we would lose even more bowlers. Many bowlers have since returned to Kona Bowl and it appears that the percentage of smokers is a minority again, comprising about 15% of our bowlers. Overall, we don't believe going smoke-free had a costly impact on our business. In fact, we believe that being asmoke-free bowling center is a great marketing tool. Dr. Fred Holschuh April 30, 2003 Page 3 Parrot's Lounge Goes Smoke Free Ten years later, after weathering so many complaints over the years about the smoke in our enclosed lounge despite the use of smoke-eater air purifiers, threatened by more publicity about the liabilities of second-hand smoke, and concern for the health and well-being of our valued employees and patrons, we implemented a "no-smoking" policy in the bar in October 2002. We used the same process to implement this policy in our lounge as we did ten years prior, but this time it seemed to be a more difficult and worrisome outcome. The regular patrons definitely made a statement to us when we saw very little business for several weeks. Since then, many pau'ons have returned. In fact, we are now hearing compliments about the non-smoking policy. We have not reached the level of business we had prior to our non-smoking policy, but we are hopeful that it will, and that it was correct public policy that we did. Thank you for your consideration in supporting Bill 260. Since Elaine F. Higashi Executive Assistant Frame ] 0 dba Kona Bowl /efh