The provincial government has singed the profits of many bars and bingo halls with its non-smoking legislation.

Last January, Alberta’s Tobacco Reduction Act banned smoking in public places and workplaces in the province. In July, powerwall displays — large walls of cigarettes in stores — were prohibited. Most recently, cigarette sales in pharmacies, university and college campuses have been banned.

Ray Malo, manager of the Red Deer Bingo Association, said the bingo hall has lost at least 30 per cent of its business since the provincial government’s non-smoking rules have taken effect.

He said a couple years ago the association might make $1,500 to $2,000 on a bingo night and now it only takes in $500 in profit. The lower revenue means less money for the 40 charitable organizations that the bingo hall supports.

Malo said the game of bingo isn’t conducive to people heading outside for a cigarette. Unlike a casino — where people can hold their place at the slots — people might miss an essential number while they are outside.

The association plans to try a couple of other things to draw more people in, like getting VLTs and moving to a class A liquor licence for an adult only establishment. But Malo said both options take time and a lot of paperwork.

He said if the government isn’t going to curtail car exhaust and big plants in the province, then he doesn’t think stopping the second-hand smoke will have much of an effect.

Bo Todd, owner of Bo’s Bar and Grill, also questions what the provincial government has done.

He said if smoking is as bad as the government claims, then it should be outlawed. He said otherwise it’s hypocritical for the province to restrict access to a legal product, while at the same time collecting taxes on it.

“It’s another one of those occasions where the government is messing in private enterprise. If something is legal we should be allowed to do it, use it, sell it or whatever,” Todd said.

He said he saw a drop in numbers when the ban on smoking in bars came into effect, but it’s hard to say specifically how much his bar patron numbers are down. He said despite the “so-called experts” saying those numbers would increase with non-smokers filling the vacancies left by smokers, it hasn’t happened.

For Todd, who has had his bar since 1996, the rules have also added to his to-do list. Every morning he has to clean up the cigarette butts outside his bar and often has to pay to replace the cigarette containers people have destroyed.

But others haven’t seen a large effect.

Leanne Ryan, the manager of the Blackjack Lounge, said there was a dip at first, but now things are back to normal. The lounge has a special area that is heated for smokers so they don’t freeze in the colder winter temperatures.

“It really hasn’t affected us,” she said.

Contact Stacy O’Brien

at sobrien@reddeeradvocate.com