Why Doesn't Chicago Have a Smoking Ban?

Just when stuff was going really well for us drug abusers, the smoking ban rears its healthy lungs yet again. Well, sort of. It's come up again in the context of: how come we don't have a smoking ban? A proposal was on the table two years ago, and it was initially a hot topic—several hearings were held in 2003. Since then, though, the proposal has been collecting dust.

Restaurant and bar owners oppose the ban, even though some studies in New York indicate that there was no significant impact on restaurants and bars following its smoking ban. Skokie and Evanston both have some smoking restrictions, enacted not just for other patrons but also to protect bar and restaurant employees. Skokie's ban excludes stand-alone bars, and one of the initial Chicago proposals did as well.

Smoking ban: yay or nay? (Gothamist on the one-year anniversary of the NYC ban.)