No Smoking in Oregon Bars

Cigarettes are out in Oregon bars but the clean up is just beginning.

The Smokefree Workplace Law went into effect at 12:01 a.m. New Year's Day.

There's no smoking anymore in bars, bowling centers, 75 percent of hotel and motel sleeping rooms and employee break rooms in any workplace.

Many local bar owners say when the clock struck midnight most smokers cooperated they took their last indoor puffs, and put out their cigarettes.

For many local bars the no smoking transition was a fairly smooth one.

Bartenders at Donnelly's pulled their ashtrays at 12:01 a.m.

"People were resigning to the fact its finally happened we've had a whole year people knew about it for a whole year, it didn't surprise anybody," said RK 'Buddy' Hulen.

Same thing at the J'Ville Tavern people stumped out their cigarettes or headed to a new patio built out back.

"Course you had a few people very angry about it. Most part everybody accepted it knew couldn't do anything about it," said Bud Gough, owner of the J'Ville Tavern.

Rick Keene is a regular at the tavern. He says he doesn't mind heading outside for a smoke and says the ban is better for everyone in the long run.

"I'll be here for an hour my hair and shirts smell like smoke. It's nice for the people who don't smoke they like to come in every once and a while and have a beer," Keene said as he smoked one of the last three cigarettes in the pack.

Keene said it's his New Year's resolution to quit smoking cold turkey.

While the ashtrays have been cleared off the counters, owners say the hard part begins. They'll clean the bars from top to bottom.

Bartenders at Donnelly's spent the day cleaning every booth, table and windowsill and will clean carpets and blinds as soon as possible.

Hulen says the new ban is probably going to be a good thing for business.

"Now its an even playing field. Everyone's going through the same thing you cant smoke anywhere. With this facility we have, I don't think people wont come because of that," Hulen said.

The J'Ville Tavern will start it's major cleanup this weekend. All the walls, floors and head mounts.

"When we're finished you'll never know we smoked in here," Gough said.

"It's going to be a while before the film clear off the walls, the air will be fresh again but other than that I think it'll be fine," said Keene.

The Trophy Club in Medford won't be doing too much of a major cleaning yet. They've planned to launch a major remodeling project for several years now and say this will be a good time to redo it's interior.

The Jackson County Health Department will enforce this law. It will be complaint driven. If bar owners refuse to comply with the law after several complaints are made, they will be forwarded to the state health department. Bar owners can face fines of $500 per day with a maximum of $2,000 in a 30-day period.