Joe Cicala begins his shift as a bartender at the Mustang Lounge on Mackinac Island and lights the cigarette of Gila Grossman, also a bartender, who is just ending her work day. Beginning May 1, 2010, a new Michigan law will prohibit smoking inside places of work, including bars, private clubs, and restaurants. "I've been at the Mustang for 14 years now," said Ms. Grossman. "When I get off work, that's my time where I get to sit and talk to customers I normally wait on. I sit down and talk about the Island or what's going on in the world. We have a beer or cocktail and smoke a cigarette. It's not going to be the same. It will take some getting used to." When her shift ends at the Mustang Lounge on Mackinac Island, bartender Gila Grossman likes to hop up on a barstool, order a beer, and light a cigarette. Come May 1, that routine will change under a new state law that eliminates smoking in places of work.

Smoking will be banned in workplaces including restaurants, bars and their outdoor patios, private clubs, and all hotel rooms. Exemptions from the law include home offices, cigar bars, tobacco specialty stores, and the gambling areas in the three Detroit casinos. The state law does not apply to Indian casinos on tribal land, like those in the Upper Peninsula.

"After working all day and being restricted from smoking, when you get off of work, you want to sit down and relax and smoke," said Ms. Grossman. "Now that's being taken away, too. It's going to be an adjustment. A big adjustment.

"The awkwardness is I don't want to have to get up and walk outside all the time, so I may not sit here as long as I normally would after work to unwind and relax."

A smoker for 23 years, Ms. Grossman said she now is considering cutting back on smoking or even quitting, something that would likely satisfy proponents of the measure, who proposed it to cut medical costs. Or, she said, she also might simply go straight home after work, where she can smoke.

While it's inconvenient for her, the Mustang will benefit from the smoking ban, she speculates. The establishment is open year-around. During the summer, Ms. Grossman has watched as some potential customers comment on the smell of smoke and leave before even sitting down. During the winter months, some patrons will have to get used to the smoking ban, but others already have changed their smoking routine.

People are becoming more health conscious, she said, and during her 14 years as a bartender at the Mustang, she's watched many regular customers quit smoking.

"I think it will be nice for nonsmokers," she noted. "They can actually come into a place now and enjoy themselves like everyone else, but not walk out smelling like cigarettes or an ashtray. I think it will be good."

Mustang co-owner Tony Brodeur expects the impact of the law on his business will be positive.

"I think, if anything, business will either stay the same or increase a little bit," he said. "Everyone's been a little worried about it, but other states have done it and they've all seen it doesn't change anything at all except for the fact that it's a lot cleaner air inside and they actually have a little bit of boost to business."

Michigan is the 38th state to adopt such a smoking ban.

The new law was proposed to reduce medical costs for both nonsmokers and smokers. Exposure to secondhand smoke will be reduced and smokers may reduce their cigarette consumption. During the state's 2007/208 fiscal year, smoking-related illnesses cost about $1.5 billion.

"Second hand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable deaths in Michigan," said James McCurtis, public information officer with the Michigan Department of Community Health. "It results in about 2,500 deaths a year and can lead to various cancers, stroke, chronic respiratory illnesses, diabetes. Secondhand smoke contributes to a lot of different illnesses."

The smoking ban creates smokefree environments, he said, that will affect the health of citizens.

"With smoke-free environments, we can prevent children from starting to smoke, can encourage smokers to quit, and it eliminates exposure to secondhand smoke for employees who work in bars, restaurants, and other places that currently allow smoking. So come May 1, these places will be smoke free and that is a good thing for everyone in Michigan."

Michigan's last statewide smoking law was passed in 1987. Called the Michigan Clean Indoor Air Act, it prohibited smoking in public places except in a designated smoking area.

The new law is expected to reduce state income by $27.5 million from a fall in tobacco tax revenue as tobacco sales fall the first year. Tobacco tax revenue is distributed to other state funds, which will feel the impact from the loss of revenue. Revenue is estimated to decline more than $11 million for the School Aid Fund, $8.8 million for the Medicaid Trust Fund, $5.4 million for the General Fund/ General Purpose accounts, $1 million for the Healthy Michigan Fund, and about $700,000 for the Health and Safety Fund, if apportionment remains the same.

The smoking policy will not change at the five Upper Peninsula facilities operated by Kewadin Casinos, said Michelle Bouschor, public relations director for the casinos. The casinos will continue to have both smoking and non-smoking designated hotel rooms and restaurants still will have smoking and non-smoking areas. The theaters and convention spaces already are non-smoking areas, she said.

"Right now," she said, "we don't have any plans to change. That could change in the future. For right now, we're staying the same."

When the Canadian casino in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, converted to a smoke-free environment, Kewadin Casinos saw an increase in business.

Tom Sposito, owner of the Driftwood Restaurant and Sports Bar of St. Ignace, said the ban will be easier on operations, reducing cleaning time and saving costs from damage, including dropped cigarettes. He has concerns, however, that smokers may patronize casino bars and restaurants, leaving local establishments with fewer customers.

"I would actually be happy about the ban," he said. "I'd be ecstatic about it, if it was statewide, if it actually was fair and for the casinos, too. I realize they are tribal and can do whatever they want at their own place, but I don't have that same luxury."

Nathan Harrison, owner of Cattails Cove in Cedarville with his wife, Pammi, also is concerned about the future of business. Most of his tavern customers are smokers, he said. Looking at nearby states that ban smoking in bars, said Mr. Harrison, some report a downturn in business.

"We're scared that is what's going to happen to us," he said. "Here we are already at the worst economic times that I've ever seen and to have this put upon us, we're just all real scared about what will happen."

Cattails Cove has an outdoor deck, which also must become nonsmoking according to the new law, said Mr. Harrison.

"We lose them for that time for which they may have sat there and bought one more drink," he said. "No matter how we look at it, it just seems like we're going to see less revenue."

The Harrisons also own Pammi's Restaurant, which offers a family atmosphere. Mr. Harrison doesn't expect to see a change in business there.

Two local bar and restaurant owners, Patti Ann Moskwa and Ron Dufina, sit on the board of the Michigan Restaurant Association, which lobbied against the smoking ban for more than 10 years.

"It's going to mean a real hurt for business all over the state of Michigan," said Mr. Dufina. He and his wife, Mary, own the Village Inn restaurants in St. Ignace and on Mackinac Island.

"I had the Pellston Regional Airport Restaurant for over five years," he said, "and we'd close it on Super Bowl Sunday because nobody would come to watch the game because you could not smoke. You could not smoke in that building at all."

Mrs. Dufina said a ventilation system is used in their businesses to keep the air fresh. Like Mr. Sposito, she is concerned with the unfairness of the regulation, which allows smoking at some places, including casinos.

"It's really upsetting and annoying that it's OK in one place, but it's not OK in another place," she said. "That's the key to it. They [legislators] are not leveling the playing field."

The bill passed the state Senate 42-13 Thursday, December 10, and the House of Representatives 75-30 that same day. Governor Jennifer Granholm signed it as Public Act 188 December 18.

Steve Moskwa of Mackinac Island said he is not sure how the ban will impact his business. Mr. Moskwa, along with his wife, Patti Ann Moskwa, own Horn's Bar and the Yankee Rebel Tavern on Mackinac Island, both establishments serving food and drinks. In 2008, the couple converted the Yankee Rebel Tavern into a non-smoking restaurant.

At Horn's Bar, said Mr. Moskwa, the smoking policy was not changed. The Main Street establishment offers a more relaxed, bar-style atmosphere, he said, making it more conducive to smoking. Cigarette sales at the bar likely will continue after the ban goes into effect and smokers will probably just move outside to smoke, he said.

"They just won't be smoking inside, that's all," he said. "Everybody will just be standing out in the street smoking."

People eventually will find ways to adapt to the new law, agreed Fred Paquin. The owner of Gateway Lanes and Fred's Pub in St. Ignace, he also is hoping the ban will not have a negative impact on his business.

"I think it will be like anything else," he said. "Change is tough, but I think, after a while, people will accept it.

"Being it's statewide, I think people know that it is not my choice. I'm hoping they still will frequent our establishment."

Special events at the bowling alley and restaurant already are smoke-free, he said, particularly any event that includes children.

Smokers who violate the law are subject to civil penalties up to $100 for a first violation and $500 for subsequent violations. The law also calls for state and local health departments to enforce the measure. Business owners are required to post no-smoking signs and, after May 1, those that do not or that continue to allow smoking will face penalties, including having their license revoked.