New York City Decrees That Coffee and Tobacco Do Not Mix

Vince Nastri III paid $9,000 for the coffee machine he installed in his lower Manhattan tobacco shop. Now it could cost him thousands of dollars more. The city's health department is threatening him with fines, saying he is operating a "food-service establishment" without a permit, even though the coffee is free. Nastri could apply for a permit, but then his customers would no longer be allowed to smoke.