Illinois Smoking Ban

[PeppyGPhiB]

Washington state has had an inside smoking ban (and 20 feet from a building entrance) for a couple years now, and most of the feedback has been really positive. At first restaurants and bars were afraid they'd lose money, but if I recall correctly, I think findings now two years later have indicated that they actually MADE money. Their patrons didn't leave...after all, when every bar has a smoking ban, there's nowhere else for them to go, except outside if they really need a smoke. And thanks to the now smoke-free environment, people who couldn't handle the smoke before are spending more time out.

The main business "haters" of our legislation has been more upscale restaurants and bars that had cigar lounges. They had to close those, too, and find some other purpose for those rooms.