Getting around the smoking ban

A law in California passed in October permits actors to smoke during a production. Now bars all over the state have begun to stage "theater nights," making all those who attend actors and therefore allowing them to smoke in the facilities.

Lisa Anderson, owner of Mike's Uptown bar in Hill City, said that last Saturday she staged a "theater night" and packed in four times the usual crowd that has come in since the smoking ban took effect.

Anderson said she has been helping other bar owners who want to put on their own tobacco productions.

"I'm going to continue to do this,'' she said. "It increased my business.'' (source)

People don't realize how much the smoking ban effects business. Since the ban was put in place in my town Chicago in January, bar revenue has dropped 50% and casinos 18% (source). The fact of the matter is that there is a huge economy in this country made off of bad habits. You can educate people as much as you want about the dangers of smoking, but in the end, it's the individual's choice, and a lot of tax money that helps out schools and other important government-funded facilities is made this way. When you try to take away the choice, the economy suffers, and you get a lot of pissed off smokers choosing to stay in their homes and drink rather than be forced out in the cold at a bar.