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More Metro Detroit concert venues go smoke free

Thursday, September 24, 2009

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Downtown Living, Oakland County, Wayne County

More and more venues across Metro Detroit are going smoke free.

Classy stalwarts like the Fox Theater in downtown Detroit and Hill Auditorium in downtown Ann Arbor have been on that list for a while. Joining them are smaller venues, like the Magic Bag in downtown Ferndale and now the Royal Oak Music Theatre.

"It's overdue," says Justin Miller, general manager of the Royal Oak Music Theatre. "It's obviously just the right thing to do with everything we know today about smoking."

A growing number of bars, coffee shops, eateries, and performance venues in Metro Detroit have been kicking out smokers in recent years. There are at least 5,889 licensed dining places in Michigan that prohibit smoking as of today.

Ontario has already outlawed smoking in public establishments. Michigan has been wrestling with similar legislation in recent years. It came close last year, when both the state House and Senate passed different smoking ban bills, but it died after the two legislative bodies couldn't reach a compromise.

"Sooner or later we're going to see this across the board," Miller says. "We're just trying to get ahead of the curve."

Source: Justin Miller, general manager of the Royal Oak Music Theatre and SmokeFreeMichigan.com
Writer: Jon Zemke

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