Long Beach bars clear smoky air

By Sharon Nagy, On-Line Forty-Niner

Tuesday, September 22, 1998

The clouds of smoke have disappeared from California bars, for now. A study will determine if Long Beach residents want to keep it that way.

The University of California awarded two Cal State Long Beach researchers $552,978 in June to measure Long Beach residents' attitudes toward the state law banning smoking in bars, which took effect Jan. 1, 1998.

"We hit something that is very important," said Dr. Robert Friis, the principal investigator in the study. "How well the law has been accepted is a crucial issue."

Friis, chairman of the health science department and Julie Lee, a health science professor, will direct the study over a three-year period.

"I am pleased at the news of the grant," President Robert Maxson said. "It provides further recognition of the professional research capabilities of our university's talented faculty."

"It's a competitive field and to be awarded this grant is a big honor," Friis said. "Few state campuses get to participate in such projects."

The study, which began July 1, is in its initial phases. The research team, including Friis, Lee and other CSULB students, do face-to-face interviews with bar owners, workers and managers. They are hiring a research firm with a random-digit dialing service to obtain opinions from 1,500 Long Beach residents.

"We're still in our preparation stages," said Jocelin Sabato, a CSULB graduate who is on the research team. "We're gathering relevant newspaper clippings and are observing about 150 bars in Long Beach - seeing if there is smoking inside and/or outside [and] if restaurants have established a smokers' patio."

Sabato, who has a master's in public health, said she joined the research team because she was interested in the issue and knew the work would be good experience.

"The funniest part of the job is the interviews - getting to see the expressions on people's faces."

The team will collaborate with the City of Long Beach Health Department. The team will release an annual report, and the final project will be published in scientific and medical journals and used in scientific meetings.

"It [$552,978] sounds like a lot of money, but after paying overhead [and] 43 percent [of the grant] to the university for facility use, it's not a whole lot," Friis said.

The results from the Long Beach study will be compared with the results from Bellflower and Lakewood studies.

Long Beach has had a tobacco ordinance banning smoking in the workplace since 1991.

"Lakewood never had a tobacco-control ordinance and Bellflower's law was repealed," Friis said.