The first month of a statewide smoking ban in restaurants and bars has been pretty much a nonevent, local business operators said yesterday. Most longtime customers who smoke have either adapted to the restrictions, which went into effect Jan. 2, or chosen to brave the cold weather before or after a meal, the operators say. On the other hand, the operators say they haven’t seen a sizable uptick in business from nonsmokers either, although t ... Jump to full article >>

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York County Council members were faced with a tough crowd Tuesday night: around 100 angry bar owners and customers who wanted nothing but the freedom to light a cigarette indoors. Only two were given a chance to speak during a meeting that lasted around an hour. But dozens of people flooded the lobby long before the meeting began. They include people such as Steve Lipe, whose private Rock Hill bar Ponderosa is in danger of closing after he says a ... Jump to full article >>

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Outgoing legislators may well be remembered for their crude sense of humor, but their last legacy, losing a contentious provision on tobacco from the health bill they endorsed, absolutely deserves not only a good laugh, but also a criminal investigation. Over the past week, people have been amused, curious and outraged at the same time about the missing key “tobacco provision”, which has become a subject of heated debate during the de ... Jump to full article >>

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Debra Cotten hopes nonsmokers in that city may soon be free to visit any indoor public place without being forced to suck in tobacco fumes. Though patrons may, for example, sit in the nonsmoking section of a restaurant, smoke from other areas still permeates the whole facility, said Cotton, who is co-chair and treasurer of the group Healthy Air for Kirkwood. But Joe Toenjes, a cofounder of the group Choose Kirkwood, contends individual business o ... Jump to full article >>

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AN ARMY of shopkeepers will boycott Labour at the ballot box if the Government bans over-the-counter cigarette sales. Posters will go up in thousands of newsagents across the country urging customers to back the protest if the Health Bill becomes law. The Bill, which could kill hundreds of small businesses, will be debated by MPs tomorrow. A spokesman for the National Federation of Retail Newsagents said its 18,000 members were being asked to ba ... Jump to full article >>

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The air finally is clearing in bars, restaurants and clubs, a year after a state law was enacted to ban smoking in public places. “I’m sure a lot of bars have lost business over that,” said Lola Nobilese, referring to the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act. Nobilese, who manages Mulligan’s Clubhouse Grille in Harmar, added, “There are a lot of people who say that they come because they can smoke downstairs.”  ... Jump to full article >>

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