State battles wishful thinking on smoking ban

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Some eateries go smoke-free freely

The state legislature is taking another stab at banning smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars.

But some business owners aren't waiting to see whether the bill will pass to convert their establishments into smoke-free venues.

Some see it as the right thing to do. Others believe it could draw customers.

Smoking or non? Soon, it's all non

Starting Saturday, Albert Brown will be forced to alter a cigarette habit he picked up at 9 years old. No more Marlboros over breakfast at the Toot-N-Tell Family Restaurant.

The state's smoking ban doesn't sit well with Brown, now 67, who shows a chest scar to prove his loyalty to tobacco. After heart bypass surgery in 2000, Brown kept smoking.

"The first thing I did when I got in my car was light a cigarette and puff away. Is that stupidity? Of course it is. But I love my cigarettes."

House passes ban on smoking

The state House adopted a ban Thursday on smoking in most North Carolina workplaces and restaurants. Bars, though, were not included in the ban.

That exception has created a potentially powerful enemy in the state's restaurant industry, which vowed to fight the ban. Restaurants fear that patrons will choose to grab some bar food and enjoy a cigarette rather than visit a restaurant and go without a smoke.

"It's pretty clear. We now strongly oppose the bill," said Paul Stone, president and CEO of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association. "It creates a significant amount of unfairness. There are plenty of family-friendly places that also have active bars later at night."

House approves smoking ban for N.C.

Smoking will soon be prohibited in bars and restaurants across North Carolina, a state where tobacco was once revered for the money it generated for farmers, universities and community and cultural institutions.

The state House on Wednesday narrowly approved a compromise with the Senate on a smoking ban. The legislation moves to Gov. Beverly Perdue, who said she will sign into law a bill that would have been unthinkable not long ago in a state with such strong economic and cultural ties to the plant. The ban would go into effect Jan. 2.

Perdue, a Democrat, called it "an important and historic day for North Carolina."

Smoking ban threatens hookahs

A mellow vibe permeates Hookah Bliss these days as college students and other trend-seeking young people socialize over water pipes and burning lumps of pungent, fruit-flavored tobacco in the small lounge on the town's main drag.

That could dissipate, though, when indoor smoking in restaurants and bars is snuffed out across the state at the start of the year.

Hookah bars, which surged in popularity in America's college towns and big cities when tobacco use was in general decline, find themselves battling the smoking bans that are sweeping the country.