Smoking shelters are a hot issue.

That is a pun intended in more ways than one since the use of them is a hot issue. Schaumburg became the first municipality to pass a separate ordinance regulating smoking shelters as well as having a no smoking ordinance prior to the statewide ban.

Sales of these shelters has become a bigger business here, particularly since the statewide ban on smoking in public places became effective Jan. 1.

Instead of making people stand without any protection the required 15 feet from a door, industrial businesses, offices, restaurants and casinos are providing these outdoor structures to accommodate their smoking customers.

The structures, which are similar to bus stop and train station platform shelters, carry prices ranging from $3,000 to $4,000 to as high as $30,000.

But numerous executives did not want to discuss the use of these structures.

Smoking shelters are still a very controversial issue, according to Linda Byam, marketing director for DUO-GUARD Industries, Inc., a Canton, Mich. manufacturer of these types of products.

She said the company, which was a pioneer in 1990 for smoking shelters, has seen sales to Illinois companies virtually triple since the middle of 2007 when people thought it was likely that a statewide smoking ban would be put into effect. Illinois is now one of more than 20 states to have enacted a smoking ban.

But Byam told The Business Ledger that all except one of her Chicago suburban clients declined to speak about the shelters their firms had purchased.

“Many of them are concerned about how they would look and that they might be perceived as encouraging smoking,” Byam said.

One Duo-Guard customer in Illinois willing to discuss smoking shelters was Boyd Gaming Corp, which operates numerous casinos in various parts of the country including Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria.

The company installed six smoking shelters—four for use by guests and an additional two for employees—at a total cost of $100,000, according to David Strow, a company spokesman.

The smoking shelters are the company’s plan to provide patrons who want to smoke with a convenient and comfortable place to do so. The heated shelters are on various decks of the boat.

“The reaction has been fairly positive,” he said. “This is the first time we have done it. In our other casinos in other states smoking is permitted.”

Tim Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association in Springfield, said he could not provide information on how individual casinos were dealing with smokers.

Swoik noted that there are several bills pending in the Illinois legislature including one which would grant an exemption to a smoking ban in casinos for five years or until a smoking ban is passed in the nearest states.

An executive with another statewide group of businesses, the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association, said that many members are abiding by the smoking ban by constructing or modifying patios or beer gardens.

“Unfortunately some association members will not be able to do that due to constraints of the property. We have a diverse membership. It is not a one size fits all solution,” Dan Clausner said.

He said it is difficult to say how many members have smoking shelters or how many will have them.

One restaurant which does have a smoking shelter is Finn McCool’s in Schaumburg. So does Moretti’s Ristorante and Pizzeria, which is also located in Schaumburg and owned by the same company, Ala Carte Entertainment, which has its offices there too.

General Manager Jim Earley said smoking customers, which he estimated to be about 2 percent, appreciated the extra effort represented by building a shelter. He added that non smokers also liked the idea because they didn’t have to walk through smoky areas outside the restaurants.

Both restaurants were given permits required by a Schaumburg ordinance passed after one smoking shelter was completely enclosed and included provisions for food and drinks as well as a television for viewing. Earley said that shelter was changed after the ordinance was passed by Schaumburg. His company is also working on a smoking shelter for a restaurant in Mt. Prospect, which is considering an ordinance.

Schaumburg officials passed a separate smoking shelter ordinance in 2007 because one smoking shelter was built completely enclosed on four sides after the Village passed in 2006 a separate smoking ban ordinance to take effect on January 1, 2007.

Mary Passaglia, assistant code compliance supervisor in Schaumburg, said the main reaction has been that the smoking shelter ordinance now provides a level playing field for all businesses. That was not the perception before, she said.

“We needed to make it clear that it could not be another completely enclosed room with food, drinks and a television. It is designed for people to go out there for a few minutes to smoke,” she explained. “We needed to put that in a set of rules.”

Passaglia said the Schaumburg smoking shelter ordinance was more specific than what was included in the statewide smoking ban.

A state official said the Illinois smoking ban law does not provide specifics on smoking shelters other than to state that the facilities should not be enclosed.

“We are happy with the ban the way it is,” said Maloney Arnold, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Health.

Local health departments do not have regulations about smoking shelters. David Hass, public information officer for the DuPage County Health Department, said local officials follow the state legislation.

“The DuPage County Health Department’s role thus far has been information and education regarding Smoke Free Illinois. We have asked all law enforcement departments to send complaints to us. We are sending ‘friendly reminder’ letters when we receive a complaint call.”

Hass said the next step is a call and then a site visit by one of the department’s people who inspect restaurants. The department does not levy or collect fines. That is done by either the state’s attorney’s office or the local municipality.

“We describe the situation as going smoothly at this point. We have just over 50 complaints.”