According to my local paper this morning, the mayor of my town and several around us in the Chicago suburbs are teaming up to push for restaurant smoking bans in all these communities. These towns (Palatine, Schaumburg, Rolling Meadows, Hoffman Estates and Arlington Heights) are home to hundreds of thousands of people.
Linkylink -
http://www.dailyherald.com/...=
How cool is that? One of the biggest objections raised by restaurant owners when a town debates smoking bans is that people will just go to restaurants in the next town so they can smoke. This concern almost makes sense to me since the suburbs run into one another (it's not like you would have to drive 50 miles to find a restaurant where you could smoke). This would do away with much of that objection since these communities all border each other.
Hopefully, towns outside of these ones would see that it can be done and join the party. I'm not any sort of anti-smoking zealot. If you want to smoke, go for it. However, I would go out to eat more often if more of my favorite places were non-smoking.
What about bars? I used to like to go out to a bar with friends when there was a good band playing. But then I'd come home and have to put my cloths outside because they reeked so bad of cigarette smoke. I haven't been out to listen to a band in a bar since back in the day. I realize that for many smokers drinking and smoking are one and the same, but is the compulsion so strong that they wouldn't go out if they couldn't smoke?
Smokers, I'm not dissing you, but I do want to hear what you think about this. Non-smokers - don't go all high-and-mighty on the smokers. There but for the grace of god etc.