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• In state's bars, smokers take their final puffs 

On the last night of legal smoking inside bars, some puffing patrons were all heated up about the statewide smoking ban, but others said they were happy to snuff out the cigarettes.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. today, smoking is outlawed in all public places in the state, including bars. Noncompliant customers -- not the business owners -- are subject to a $99 fine...

Other owners said the law's generally successful implementation in New York City indicated that even the most stubborn and independent-minded patrons could adapt to the change.

"I'm not terribly worried," said Donald Garamella, general manager at Grand. "People are used to it from (the bans in) New York and California."

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