RALEIGH -- North Carolina's new smoking ban drew decidedly different but predictable reactions as patrons dined and drank in public restaurants and bars on the first smoke-free weekend.
In Raleigh's Glenwood South entertainment district Saturday night, the first evening the ban was in full effect, nonsmokers praised the prohibition while dedicated smokers deemed it too intrusive.
"If you're a nonsmoker, like me, it's great," said Ginger Mullins, a hair and makeup artist from Cary who was having a drink at Bogart's American Grill. "Even when a restaurant had a nonsmoking section, you could smell it. It will be nice to go out in public and come home and not smell like smoke."
But smoker Michelle Gunton of Youngsville said the ban is annoying.
"I don't go to bars often, but when I do I like to have a cocktail and enjoy a cigarette," said Gunton, a photographer. "Plus, it's cold outside. No one wants to walk outside and smoke. Why can't we have a few public places where it's allowed?"
The new law bans smoking in almost all public restaurants and bars. It exempts cigar bars and private clubs such as VFW halls and country clubs.
Some smokers said they, too, support the ban.
"I like it because I smoke less," said Jonathan Kaz, a "part-time" smoker who is also a photographer. "And now I can bring my 4-year-old daughter out with me."
Restaurants have been preparing for the ban since May, and managers say they hope it will eventually help business.
Employees at Bogart's and the Red Room Tapas Restaurant installed outdoor heaters and ash trays Saturday.
Joseph Ervin, general manager at Red Room, said business slowed when the restaurant restricted smoking until 10 p.m. a couple of years ago but that he expects the number of customers to increase now that all restaurants have the same smoking policy.
"I've talked with people in New York and Connecticut where they have similar bans, and it hasn't hurt business at all there," he said. "We're still committed to accommodating smokers."
State Rep. Jennifer Weiss, who co-authored the no-smoking bill, and officials with the N.C. Division of Public Health and the Wake County Tobacco Free Coalition gathered Saturday for a lunch celebration of the ban at the Abbey Road Tavern & Grill in Cary.
The tavern stacked its old ash trays and hung a banner that displayed a picture of a cigarette with an X across it and the words "We can all breathe easier."
"I think we will lose a few customers but gain a lot more," Mikki Wareham, the restaurant's manager, said Sunday. "But it's been two days now, and I haven't heard any complaints."
