Greek Night
Tests DC Smoking Ban
February 6, 2007
So it came to pass that it would take over a month for Greeks to finally test
the smoking ban en masse, at a Greek owned club no less. For weeks speculation
abounded. Would this really work at a Greek Night? Would a Greek club owner
discover one of the loopholes to the rule for the sake of their Greek customers?
Or would Greeks light up for the sake of being Greek?
To bring those of you out there from outside the area up to speed, on January
1st, DC instituted a smoking ban at restaurants and nightclubs. There are
few exceptions to this rule, including intuitively the outdoor sections of bars
and restaurants and defined tobacco bars (a designation based on percentage of
tobacco sales as a part of the bar’s overall business) and less intuitively
theatricals productions. (Participatory Dinner Theatre, anyone? As long as there’s
lamb on the menu.)
In the middle of winter, there was no way to avoid the smoking ban, even at
Greek Night. What a difference a lack of tobacco makes though. People seemed
nicer and more approachable. Maybe it was the increased alcohol consumption? (We
don’t have numbers to back this up, but people must have been drinking more
without drags between sips.) Not being tied down to ashtrays, there was more
movement in the club and more dancing. For the most part those who needed to
smoke were good sports about it, venturing outside into the cold for a quick
cigarette and returning. Later in the night though there were a few desperate
souls ducking underneath the bar or trying to hide elsewhere indoors to sneak
one in.
Leaving Greek Night not smelling like smoke was a welcome change to Greek
Nights past. Coming home at the end of the night and not throwing clothes
outside to air out was also refreshing. In the long run, the smoking ban will
probably make Greek events in DC better, as those who normally would be turned
off by second hand smoke will come out to clubs they wouldn’t frequent in the
past and interact with those other Greeks who are still going to come out anyway
even if they have to leave for a few minutes every hour or so.
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past feature articles