Wednesday we had an officer from the Alcohol & Tobacco Commission stop in the cigar lounge about 7:30pm in the evening. It was a slow night, but she asked the clerk to show her our "smoking exemption" form.
Huh? A smoking exemption form?
Let's back up this story to July 1 of 2012.
On that date in history, about a year and a half ago, a new law became effective in my state. The law specifically BANNED smoking at most places of business. But the law listed several very specific types of locations that were EXEMPT from the law. We looked at the wording in the law, we saw that we qualified as one of the EXEMPT business and we went on our merry way of operating a cigar lounge.
Oh if it were only that easy
Officers of the A.T.C. have been in and out of our shop many times since the new law went into effect. Detectives from the State Po-Po stop in and smoke their pipes. Local 5-0 visit for their cigarettes. So there is no shortage of law enforcement types in and out of the shop on a regular basis.
We've been inspected many times, we've passed, with flying colors, the 'underage sting' operations to keep kids from buying cigarettes, blah blah blah.
So when the cop-chick asks for our "exemption form" on Wednesday night the clerk got this dumbfounded look on her face and said: HUH?
So on the phone she goes, calls me up, puts the ATC cop-chick on the other end and the officer tells me that we are in violation of several things.
Ok so I'm chatting with Officer Do-Good, who is trying to protect the world from the evils of the occasional fine Cuban-imitator, and she is actually being very nice, explains everything to me, she even helps the clerk find the appropriate website to explain this stuff to us.
So yesterday morn, bright and early, I'm in the store with the manager going over all this stuff.
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OK so we go back to yesterday morning, Manager and I fill out the form (check a box, sign my name, write in our address) and she FAXes it to Indianapolis for approval. She then calls down to make sure they got the FAX. Gets voice mail. Tries calling about once an hour, gets voice mail each time.
Finally in the mid-afternoon she gets someone. She is told that it will typically take 1 to 2 weeks to get approval.
In the mean time a bunch of my customers, ready to take up arms against the state, set up a tent in the lawn next to the store and take chairs from my back room and are smoking cigars, and to the state's horror, drinking coffee out on the lawn So business as usual, just outside.
Last night one of the other local A.T.C. agents comes into the shop, gives us formal approval to re-open the lounge, pending the 4 above mentioned changes.
And now I know why Ronald Reagan was correct when he said the scariest words in the English language are: "Hi, I'm from the Government and I'm here to help."
So now I just wait and watch the mail, I'm sure that we will be getting a "fine" in the mail for our horrid and anti-gubmit behavior of not following the rules that forbid customers from drinking water/coffee while smoking a cigar. Blah blah blah
Huh? A smoking exemption form?
Let's back up this story to July 1 of 2012.
On that date in history, about a year and a half ago, a new law became effective in my state. The law specifically BANNED smoking at most places of business. But the law listed several very specific types of locations that were EXEMPT from the law. We looked at the wording in the law, we saw that we qualified as one of the EXEMPT business and we went on our merry way of operating a cigar lounge.
Oh if it were only that easy
Officers of the A.T.C. have been in and out of our shop many times since the new law went into effect. Detectives from the State Po-Po stop in and smoke their pipes. Local 5-0 visit for their cigarettes. So there is no shortage of law enforcement types in and out of the shop on a regular basis.
We've been inspected many times, we've passed, with flying colors, the 'underage sting' operations to keep kids from buying cigarettes, blah blah blah.
So when the cop-chick asks for our "exemption form" on Wednesday night the clerk got this dumbfounded look on her face and said: HUH?
So on the phone she goes, calls me up, puts the ATC cop-chick on the other end and the officer tells me that we are in violation of several things.
- We do not have an exemption form that exempts us from a law that formally exempts us from smoking bans
- We have "tobacco paraphernalia" on the tables in the lounge??? Uh, translation, we have ASHTRAYS on the tables.
- We have COFFEE CUPS and FREE COFFEE for customer consumption.
- We do not have a sign saying there is tobacco being smoked inside the cigar lounge.
Ok so I'm chatting with Officer Do-Good, who is trying to protect the world from the evils of the occasional fine Cuban-imitator, and she is actually being very nice, explains everything to me, she even helps the clerk find the appropriate website to explain this stuff to us.
So yesterday morn, bright and early, I'm in the store with the manager going over all this stuff.
- We must file a form to exempt us from a law that exempts us from restrictions. I read the entire law that was passed, nowhere does it say we must file the form. But we cannot allow smoking inside until we 1) file the form and 2) have an ATC agent re-inspect our lounge.
- We must FORBID people from drinking water, soda, beer, coffee or any other beverages while they are inside the cigar lounge. Yup, you can puff your $12 stogie, but you can't sip on a cup o'joe while doing so. Want some coffee or a sip of water, you must step OUTSIDE the building to drink it.
- We must place specially worded signs warning people that we smoke in a cigar lounge. Uh, yeah, as if they couldn't tell?
- We must remove the coffee from the lounge area and reposition it to the store area. Ok so we move the pot and cups to the food & beverage counter, then I guess we put a sign on it saying "Free Coffee for your ride home"
===============
OK so we go back to yesterday morning, Manager and I fill out the form (check a box, sign my name, write in our address) and she FAXes it to Indianapolis for approval. She then calls down to make sure they got the FAX. Gets voice mail. Tries calling about once an hour, gets voice mail each time.
Finally in the mid-afternoon she gets someone. She is told that it will typically take 1 to 2 weeks to get approval.
In the mean time a bunch of my customers, ready to take up arms against the state, set up a tent in the lawn next to the store and take chairs from my back room and are smoking cigars, and to the state's horror, drinking coffee out on the lawn So business as usual, just outside.
Last night one of the other local A.T.C. agents comes into the shop, gives us formal approval to re-open the lounge, pending the 4 above mentioned changes.
And now I know why Ronald Reagan was correct when he said the scariest words in the English language are: "Hi, I'm from the Government and I'm here to help."
So now I just wait and watch the mail, I'm sure that we will be getting a "fine" in the mail for our horrid and anti-gubmit behavior of not following the rules that forbid customers from drinking water/coffee while smoking a cigar. Blah blah blah