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• Smokers Greet Imminent Ban with Sigh of Resignation 

A decision made four years ago in the Legislature will soon kick in across the state as Montana bars, restaurants and casinos go smoke-free on Oct. 1. And while the change rankles those with familiar routines of sitting down at their favorite bar with a drink and a cigarette after a long day, the exodus to the outdoors seems to be greeted by many smokers with a sigh of resignation.

"It seems pretty much like they've just accepted it," Patty Higgins, a bartender at the Remington in Whitefish, said of her smoking clientele. "A lot of them don't believe it's going to happen."

But that doesn't mean she likes the imminent change, even though her workplace will be smoke-free.

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