Hay River (Apr 26/04) - Bacon and eggs, sun and sand, a beer and a smoke. Some things seem to naturally go together.

Well, things change. As of May 1, drinkers will no longer be able to light up in NWT bars.

Wayne Bennett smokes a cigarette at The Caribou in Hay River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Lounges fall into the all-embracing category of workplaces, and the Workers Compensation Board has decreed no smoking in virtually all workplaces.

It will be a major change for NWT lounges and their patrons.

One smoker, Wayne Bennett of Hay River, doesn't have a particular problem with the smoking ban.

"Let's face it, everybody knows you should quit," he says, while enjoying a smoke at The Caribou lounge.

In fact, Bennett would have liked to see a ban much earlier. "It should have been done 50 years ago before I started smoking."

Once the ban comes into place, Bennett says people will just have to deal with smoking outdoors or in their cars.

Jeff Brockway, the owner/operator of The Caribou, says many of his customers are talking about the coming ban. He said the majority are not too impressed.

"For many of them, drinking goes hand-in-hand with smoking," he says.

Brockway, who is a non-smoker himself, is careful in criticizing the ban, noting it could have simply been left as an individual choice whether a person enters an establishment where smoking is allowed.

"I don't know if it's completely unnecessary," he adds. "I think there is a place for it, where children or adolescents are allowed."

Brockway doesn't think the smoking ban will affect how many customers will enter his establishment, but may affect how long they stay.

The businessman has invested thousands of dollars into The Caribou. "I don't want to lose that because of smoking regulations."

So he is investing more to keep smokers coming into his bar. One of the main additions is a 12-foot television screen so patrons can watch sporting events. Plus, he is considering adding an outdoor patio so smokers can go outside to have a cigarette in comfort.

Brendan Bell, the minister responsible for the Workers Compensation Board, recognizes the ban will affect bars and their patrons.

"I'm hopeful people are ready," he says.

Any change requires a period of adjustment, he adds. "I hope in time it will be old hat and very natural."

Bell says the WCB could not exempt certain sectors from the ban. "We had to do it and we had to do it across the board."

Given the concerns about smoking, he says worker safety has to be paramount. He believes people will not object to that.

The minister believes almost everyone is aware of the coming ban. "I don't think it's going to surprise anyone."