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One of the worst effects of the smoking ban here is some of the cheesey structures that bars hastily threw up to shelter the smokers.  We need an improvement in smoke-garden architicture!   Smokers deserve better than visquine and chainlink!

Okay I get it don't smoke in public buildings. But how can they expect people to stand outside in the freezing cold. They can't make some amends for them. The law states here you can't have anything with a roof and 4 walls. Boy that sounds real warm. People are trying anything around here to keep their business. One bar has a bus in the parking lot that stays running 24/7. Obviously paying high gas prices to keep it running is worth not losing business. If they cared about the busineses at all they would have made room for with this law for businesses to have something for the smokers. A beer garden with heaters is about it. But here in Illinois you have strick laws and extra expense to have a beer garden. Very few are able to have what is called a true beer garden with a full bar. Most just have patios.

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Babs before the full ban camwe into effect, they allowed bars to create smoking room and to do so with approved venitlation systems which cost an average of $75,000 to the bar owners.  This was to last 3 years but of course this was not good enough for the non-smoking faction and they were gone within 2 years.  BTW you sould not smell any smoke in the non-smoking section.

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Here in the Great White North (we're roasting today at a balmy temp of 54F), smokers have become totally accustomed to stepping outside in whatever the weather.  They have to be 25 feet from an open window or the front door - this is not always enforced. Many places have put up canvas "tents" (the kind you might buy at Costco or GI Joe's) and put chairs under those for the smokers. Frankly, as a nonsmoker, I can't even imagine going out in some of the weather that the die-hard smokers go out in - seems crazy to me.

A percentage of smokers have actually quit permanently instead of having to go outside 2-3 times an hour (not uncommon to see people go outside 3-4 times an hour while drinking). Others will smoke no matter the weather. Interestingly, the tribal casinos which still allow smoking (sovereign nations) are NOT overflowing, and even former smokers comment on the fact that they smell like tobacco when they come out ... and they don't like it.

I can't say for sure how many of the small places around here that shut down actually shut down due to the indoor smoking ban. I do know that more than that hitting us, the cost of gasoline is now starting to have an effect. I've heard people mention they have cut their nights out during the week to 2 instead of 4, or 1 instead of 2 - they just can't afford to drive very far...when they still have to be able to drive to work. Many people in this area have 1 to 2 hour freeway commutes (might be 20-25 miles but it takes that long due to the amount of traffic). Sitting in rush hour = 0 miles to the gallon.

The combination of the two is certainly going to have an effect in most areas if it hasn't already.  BTW, Starbucks is also taking a big hit - it just had to be a fact that those $4.50/day coffee habits would soon be replaced by 1.4 gallons of gas in the tank.

k