Chicago Bans Smoking

The Windy City is going the way of California, New York, Florida, Washington state (whose ban takes effect today), Boston, D.C., and various other jurisdictions too depressing to list. Bars don't have to ban smoking until June 30, 2008, after which they can theoretically apply for exemptions. A.P. reports that "owners would have to prove that their establishments feature air filtration or ventilation systems that render patrons' exposure to secondhand smoke equivalent to the exposure they would receive in the outdoor air around the establishment. The ordinance's sponsor, Ald. Ed Smith, said no such technology exists, and he doubts that it will be in place by the summer of 2008."

Comments

[ChicagoTom]

Bars don't have to ban smoking until June 30, 1998

they have until 1998 ?

[Jennifer]

Bars don't have to ban smoking until June 30, 1998

?

[Shem]

Bars don't have to ban smoking until June 30, 1998

Harsh.

[Deus ex Machina]

In other idiotic politician news, the government of Canada is planning on banning all handguns.

[emme]

It's 2008.

[zach]

Do they have to ban smoking retroactively? Do they have to apply for retroactive bar smoking insurance?

[Jacob Sullum]

Fixed the date. Man, you guys are fast. Don't you have jobs?

[smacky]

I was talking about air filtration systems at clubs with someone, and he pointed out that the club with the good air filtration system is the one you leave smelling the smokiest - because the air filtration system/fans/ac blow the smoke around the club and, consequently, all of the patrons; whereas it used to be you could walk out of another, former club in Cleveland that had no filtration or air circulation smelling just fine (and breathing easily), because all the smoke would gather at the top of the club, near the ceiling, in a great poisonous, blue cloud, safely away from all of the patrons' lungs.

Just thought I would point that out. Air filtration isn't necessarily a good idea.

[Jacob Sullum]

Fixed the date. You guys are too fast.

[Jennifer]

Don't you have jobs?

Yes. Don't you have proofreaders?

[sage]

One of the things here in WA state that I can't believe: You can not smoke in your car while waiting to drive on the ferry. How in the hell are they going to enforce that during the summer, when there are 500 cars lined up? Much less during the winter, when people's windows are up. Sheesh.

[sage]

One of the things here in WA state that I can't believe: You can not smoke in your car while waiting to drive on the ferry. How in the hell are they going to enforce that during the summer, when there are 500 cars lined up? Much less during the winter, when people's windows are up. Sheesh.

[downstater]

A countywide smoking ban in St. Louis was recently defeated by the county council. The county executive threatened to veto it as he thought a ban would be bad for county businesses. Go figure. St. Louis really is behind the times.

Maybe all those smoking Chicagoans would like to drive down 55 and patronize The Lou?

[WLC]

Ah yes, I remember the newspapers saying how the General Assembly this year voted to allow municipalities to ban smoking if they chose. Local control and all.

I wonder how long it will take for the "we must level the playing field" argument to strip away this new local control.

[ralphus]

Chi Town was one of the few places left in the country where I could simultaneously poison my system with a thick porterhouse, a fine whiskey and a good smoke. I never thought that a manly man town like Chicago would lift its skirt like this. This sucks.

[VM]

does anybody have the breakdown of polling data on this?

just curious.

ralphus- as long as you weren't at the worst fucking, most overrated restaurant for wanna bes: gibsons. barf.

[CodeMonkeySteve]

(Obligatory Eddie Izzard)

"What have you been smoking? Certainly haven't been smoking in a bar in [Washington], that's for sure. Because you can't now! No, no smoking in bars in [Washington] ... and soon No Drinking and No Talking."

[downstater]

You can also carry a concealed handgun in St. Louis. And we only sold HALF of our soul for a new stadium.

Hmm, abundant smoking, firearms, the 2nd largest mardi gras in the world (maybe first now?), affordable housing, interesting history - is St. Louis the most free major city?

[kenny k]

Oh come on! CHICAGO DID NOT BAN SMOKING!

Hizzoner Daley mollified the do-gooders with a loop holed ordinance that guarantees a satisfying smoke with my cocktail for the foreseeable future.

The 2-1/2 year delay was just to figure out the logistics, and if we can make a river flow upstream, this shouldn't pose much of a problem.

Windy City Smoker 🙂

[VM]

that stadium is pretty cool.

this cubs fan loved going to st louis to a game last summer.

Cards fans are head and shoulders the BEST damn fans in baseball. by far.

[ralphus]

ralphus- as long as you weren't at the worst fucking, most overrated restaurant for wanna bes: gibsons. barf.

Nope. Morton's is my preferred place for giving PETA, MADD and TRUTH the proverbial finger.

[downstater]

That carries weight coming from a Cubs fan!

You think the stadium you went to the game in was cool? or the new one they're building?

Cause the last bit of the old one just got knocked to the ground yesterday.

[VM]

sad - loved busch. loved it.

we stayed across the street at the westin. loved it.

drank some beers with some people clad in red t-shirts. had a ball.

took pictures with the statues. took my hat off to Stan the Man.

the new one looks really good.

had a great time there. and we're heading back.

🙂

ralphus: awesome.

[downstater]

Glad to hear of someone enjoying the town. I got to meet Musial when I was about 7 years old. I had no idea who he was (if his name wasn't ozzie, then I didn't care), but my old man insisted that some day I'd be glad I met him.

You also reminded me that this place is also the home to the largest brewery in the world. On a hot summer day the entire south side smells like fermenting barley and hops. Unfortunately, fermenting barley and hops really stinks.

To reciprocate, I admit that every time I've visited Chicago, I've thought about relocating there. Never been inside Wrigley, but everyone says its the best. Had a friend who claimed to make nearly $50 grand waiting tables at Morton's. Must be a nice place.

[Lowdog]

downstater - we don't have a mardi gras, but Phoenix does have concealed carry, smoking, relatively affordable housing, and a frontier history, so I think we're pretty free down here, too. Actually, the whole state of AZ has a pretty frontier attitude, so I'm gonna vote for my state! 🙂

[downstater]

Lowdog,

I admit that I may be bested here, as your weather certainly beats our sorry meteorological lot and I don't personally go to the mardi gras.

Grand Canyon is amazing. Can you believe that it only took 2000 years to carve too? 😉

[VM]

downstater:

prove it.

it took about 28 minutes in the book of genitals. it says so. the flying spaghetti monster. my imaginary friend. it took instant time. why do you hate america. terror. 9.11. wmds. saddam. saddam. WTC. god bless america.

[Lowdog]

Never been to St Louis, though, so who knows. I will say that the weather here has got to be better. I was born in Kansas and had to spend a little time in Missouri (KC) once when I had a family reunion.

I know something we also get a lot of down here, too: drugs. Yes, I know they're pretty much everywhere, but we are on the Mexico boarder.

[B.D.]

Sage, that's odd because I read in the paper that they will allow you to smoke in your car while riding the ferry.

I voted against this ban in Washington state. However, last night I was at Boeing in Everett and was amused at the irony of a fire set in a large trash compactor by a smoker who threw his butt into it after bitching about the ban. No one was hurt or injured, smoke filled the dock as did the stench of burnt plastic.

[Cryptic Ned]

owners would have to prove that their establishments feature air filtration or ventilation systems that render patrons' exposure to secondhand smoke equivalent to the exposure they would receive in the outdoor air around the establishment

I think piping secondhand smoke into the outdoor air so that it becomes similar to the air inside the bar would meet this requirement.

[Stevo Darkly]

Howdy, downstater, you fellow St. Louisan.

The weather in St. Louis right now is freaking cold. It generally sucks. In the summer it is hotter and/or more humid than the Caribbean or Calcutta, according to the testimony of various travellers. Our intern from Germany marvels at the suckitudinous variability of St. Louis weather.

But Morton's is great. There is one right around the corner from where I am now. It's rather exensive, however. I'm not surprised if the wait staff can make a lot of money from tips. Fortunately I have a client who likes to visit STL once a year or so, and he likes to go to Morton's for steak and martinis, so I get to go there on occasion on the company dime.

Hmm, abundant smoking, firearms, the 2nd largest mardi gras in the world (maybe first now?), affordable housing, interesting history - is St. Louis the most free major city?

A few years ago it was said we had the 3rd largest Mardi Gras celebration in the world, after New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro, but recent steps to make our celebration less wild (less public urination and property damage) and more family friendly (less fun, less flashing) diminished it a bit, I think. It's probably still in the top five or top 10, though, is my guess.

And it's probably one of the most free semi-major cities in America if you like to smoke in bars.

[Shawn Smith (in Las Vegas)]

Too all of you out there, Please, PLEASE don't come to Las Vegas, NV! There are too many people here already! It's too cold right now and it gets too hot in the summer. And it's too expensive! Please stay away.

🙂 🙂

[bago]

I was in a bar last night smoking as the ban went into effect. There was a news camera there and everything. Number of people that actually extinguished at midnight? Zero.

[Hakluyt]

I wonder when the smoke-easies will start opening?

[Pig Mannix]

Worse is yet to come. There's a proposal afoot to ban smoking in the whole fucking county.

[Pedro Bento]

Goddamnit, I was thinking of moving to Chicago...

[Rick Barton]

Score another one for the meddlesome busybodies at the cost of individual liberty. It's too bad that this outrage wasn't blogged while it could still be contested.

I have never smoked tobacco and I believe that second hand smoke is harmful as well. (When I'm in a smoky environment I take, eat, or drink extra anti-oxidants. BTW, Dark beer and red wine are supposed to confer some protection from tobacco smoke). But if this BS comes up in Denver or one of the burbs, I'll fight it as if liberty matters! Non-smokers for choice! The way to oppose the little totalitarians who support smoking bans is to put em on the defensive. How dare hey impose there values on others and in doing so deny other adults a choice?!

[Rick Barton]

Shoulda been: "How dare *they* impose there values on others and in doing so deny other adults a choice?!"

(Here's looking at you, Preview button")

[Likes Wine]

I get hotter chicks in my bar since the California smoking ban passed. Go figure.

[Matt]

I personally don't see the problem of having certain bars where smoking is allowed and certain bars where smoking is banned. I don't think it'd affect business, because I know plenty of people (being from California) who prefer to drink in smoke-free environments.

Perhaps the bar staff at a smoking bar could sign a waiver stating that they don't mind....why hasn't anyone proposed that bit of legislation? Why does it have to be all or nothing?

[RoverRandom]

We should just ban everything and get it over with. Ban life! Erase all sin!

[Isaac Bartram]

I wonder when the smoke-easies will start opening?

The return of the "private club" perhaps.

I suppose they haven't really gone away tho, have they? I understand they're still big in Utah and some parts of the South.

[Isaac Bartram]

In the last paragraph I was referring to the "private clubs" established to get around local alcohol restrictions or racial integration laws.

[Chuck]

Florida hasn't actually banned smoking in all bars, just ones that also function as restaurants. I can't remember the exact criteria, but they can only derive some minor part of their business from serving food. There are plenty of bars here that allow smoking, just not ones where you can also order dinner. On the flip side, the ban is only an indoor ban, and it being Florida and all, a lot of restaurants have outdoor seating sections where smoking is allowed as well.

I still don't like the law, but it hasn't has as much of an impact as everyone thought it would. A lot of places around here advertise their outdoor "smoking-friendly" areas on the radio.

[sage]

B.D.,

I heard about that last night. I guess they are allowing it while the attorney general researches whether the ban can apply like that. And get this, while the ban does not apply to tribal casinos, the governor is trying to apply it there also.

[downstater]

Stevo,

Are you a native or did you relocate? If you are a native, I am shocked that you did not ask me the obligatory question for making a snap judgement about my socio-economic background, family status, and general worthiness. I will not ask you this question because I find it to be obnoxious and provincial.

CJ Muggs is the closest I'll ever get to dining at Morton's in Clayton.

[linguist]

downstater,

Never been to StL and don't know what the "question" is. A friend last night was telling me there's a huge gap between East and West there. Is that the question? Really, I want to know. The things people use to make their snap judgments are fascinating to me.

[downstater]

The question is: "So, where did you go to high school?"

EVERYONE asks this and it is annoying as hell. The analysis goes something like this:
If your school was north: you are black
If your school was south: you are a hoosier
If your school was west: you are a snob

You can imagine the accuracy.

There have even been books written on this question being asked in this town. Seriously.

The gap in the city is a north/south one. If you're east in St. Louis - well, then you're in Illinois - which might as well be a foreign country to most in StL.

[linguist]

If you're east in St. Louis - well, then you're in Illinois - which might as well be a foreign country to most in StL.

This was the divide my friend was talking about. So it's really divisions within division. Cool.

[downstater]

yeah, unfortunately i grew up on one side and now live on the other - so i'm a man without a home!

the east/west is a pretty lopsided divide as about 2 million people are on the west side of the river vs., i don't know, about 100,000 on the east. don't quote me on that eastside stat.

and if you're going to the "eastside" that does not mean illinois - that means you are going to a strip club.

[gaius marius]

in a yet greater affront to good taste, the city is also trying to ban foie gras. god help me, richard m. daley is my defender on this one.

[VM]

Gaius:

(see you at the H&R holiday gathering?)

sigh. Ritchie doesn't know what that is. if we tell him it's like manwich (A MEAL!!!) , he might be for it, after all.