Local Smoking Bans

[LeafHog]

Has anyone out there been affected by a local or state smoking ban? NY, DC, and FL have well known anti-smoking laws, but what about the rest of the country? An anti-smoking ordinance just passed here and will go into effect in 30 days. The ban will apply to all restaurants, clubs, coffee houses, etc. The only exceptions to the ban are Tobacco retailers and bars that have "incidental" food service. Many of the businesses that are cigar friendly have vowed not to enforce the ordinance, but I don't think they will get away with it for long.

[PaulMac]

Here in CT they enacted a ban in restaurants several months ago, and I think a ban on bars goes into effect on April 1...hell of an april fools joke on us smokers...Anyway, while I didn't normally light up a cigar at a restaurant before unless I KNEW they were cigar friendly...I a considerate smoker I did light up a cigarette now and then, does not affect me really since I can take or leave cigarettes, but in talking to people who SERVE me at restaurants and such, it has had a HUGE effect on them. Most telling was the bartender I was talking to at a Hops restaurant, a chain brew pub/restaurant. He told me that about 2 weeks after the ban went into effect, the restaurant started closing between 1 and 2 hours earlier a night, cause ALL the late night business was smokers. So lets hear it for handcuffing businesses ability to make money in a shaky economy

PaulMac