06/04/2003

Empire, the restaurant that has drawn national attention for its cuisine, is next door to Splinters, the bar that has drawn local attention for its pitchers of beer.

The two establishments on Empire Street in Providence don't have a lot in common. For the price of an entrée at Empire, a drinking man or woman could satisfy a moderate thirst at Splinters for several days.

But there is one connection. It's tobacco. There are people who walk from Empire to Splinters for the warmth of a smoke between courses.

"People come in from Empire," says Mike Sweeney, the manager of Splinters. "They come in to smoke, maybe check on the score of the game."

The nicotine habit makes for interesting acquaintances. It puts white collar next to blue collar, the fine diner next to the long-distance drinker.

While Empire bans smokes, Splinters has defined its well-worn comfort with the easy balance of a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other.

So people with that special need to suck in some heat during or after a meal take the short walk to a smoker-friendly haven with pictures of boxers on the wall and a welcoming haze over the bar.

Sweeney figures maybe 80 percent of his customers smoke. To say they couldn't would be bad for business.

"It would hurt us," he says. "I'd like to see them leave it up to the establishment."

Smoking bans in restaurants and bars are spreading. The deadly consequences of cigarettes have caused state and local officials to try to save people from their own bad habits.

A lot of upscale restaurants have imposed their own smoking bans. And state Sen. Elizabeth Roberts has called a meeting of her Health and Human Services Committee today to vote on a ban in restaurants and bars in Rhode Island.

The time is right. There are all those TV commercials about bartenders and waitresses under assault by secondhand smoke. Smoking has been made a furtive, grubby activity.

But before jumping on the butt-banning bandwagon, I figured I'd check in with someone who works in the middle of it all. So I checked in with "Judge Judy."

Judge Judy presides at Muldowney's Pub just a few doors from Splinters. She is Judy Sisson. She is the day bartender and has a concise, impossible-to-ignore way of imposing order at the bar. She has worked at Muldowney's for six years and in other bars before that. She doesn't smoke but she is having none of this trend toward clearing the smoke from her job.

"Nobody is forcing you to stay back over here," she says, waving a hand at her space behind the bar. "Secondhand smoke -- if you object to it don't put yourself over here."

She's right, of course. And so is Mike Sweeney. There is a smoking culture in good, working-class bars. Everyone knows it's not healthy. But smokers make the choice. And until the government bans cigarettes because they kill people, the choice is legal.

Legislating personal behavior is a bad idea. One more layer of government control is a bad idea. If you don't like smoking and its dangers, follow the advice of Judge Judy and go where people don't smoke. But sending in the smoke police and taking the cigarette out of the hand that isn't holding the drink will only hurt the ability of places like Splinters and Muldowney's to stay in business. It will do nothing for public health.

Besides, if these good local bars are forced out of business, it will leave nowhere for patrons from the designer restaurants down the street to run for a smoke while the Cherries Jubilee is being prepared.

Bob Kerr can be reached by e-mail at bkerr@projo.com