Smoking Ban, Schmoking Schman

By Alicia Dorr in News on Mar 15, 2007 6:30PM

Just in case you were outside smoking when the news came on, we wanted to remind everyone that the Cook County smoking ban took effect today.

Wha..? you ask? While plenty of people are totally informed on this whole thing and are either non-smokers or those with a devil-may-care attitude, there are also quite a few who didn't even know about the ban in the first place (these were tallied in a brief, non-scientific man on Michigan Avenue poll earlier today).

Whether you're just learning it now or think the news is old hat, we're just reminding you that Cook County residents are not allowed to smoke in any enclosed public place, or within 15 feet of one. Smokers can light up at home or in designated smoking clubs/rooms, the latter applying mainly to cigar smokers and men with monocles who drink brandy.

Several towns have already opted for their own, less restrictive smoking laws which trump the Cook County ban, such as Cicero, where you can still smoke in designated areas. Chicago's own ban is already in place, but it provides certain exceptions for bars and restaurants, which can still have smoking areas if there's a smoke eater — and those types of establishments still have until June 2008 to comply.

The fine in Chicago for smoking in the wrong place is $100, and the same goes for business owners. For Cook County it's the same, but jumps up dramatically for any subsequent offense. We figure that this is a kind of pie in the sky thing they just say they want, like "not drinking or peeing on the el" and "no jaywalking". You show us the stats on how many of those el pissers and confused pedestrians are caught and fined, and we'll show you an ineffective ban. We'll all just have to wait and see with this one.

Image via ulwaf.com.