[wludavid]

I try not to be uptight about smoking. I enjoy going to bars but typically go despite the presence of smokers. Sometimes its my friends who are smoking. When some of the cities near me banned smoking, the bar and restaurant owners cried that they were destroying their businesses. In fact, just the opposite happened - more people came out to eat dinner or have a beer. All else being equal, and given a choice between a place consumed with second-hand smoke and one without, 99% of non-smokers are going to choose the place that doesn't allow smoking. And empirical evidence has shown that banning smoking brings in more non-smokers than repels smokers.

Ugh. You really don't know second hand smoke until you go home from sunday brunch at your favorite bar reeking of the previous night's cigarettes. It'll make you want to take your second shower of the day before noon.