Here in Florida, we are thankfully smoke-free in all restaurants. Pubs/bars/taverns that generate < X% of their revenue from food sales may allow smoking. It has created some interesting circumstances — bars that serve food during the afternoon to accommodate the lunch crowd (no smoking allowed) and after about 7 pm limit their menu to allow smoking. This seems like circumventing the rules, but I don’t care — I can go there when I want a smoke free lunch, and can be gone before they allow smokers.

Restaurants in the area have not suffered due to the ban, but there are no neighboring towns to which people can go and smoke in restaurants (except, I suppose near the FL-GA border). Locally, it has made eating out a pleasure. I said in another thread that my favorite bumper sticker from when they were trying to pass this ban said "Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a pool."

I travel to other places in the country for work — a lot to NY, where it is also nice to be able to eat without having the taste of the food obscured by other’s smoke. Still, when I go to TX, WA, OR, IL, OH, MI, and other places, it almost seems strange to me that they ask if I have a seating/smoking preference.

Steve