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Smokers take it outside  

Take a deep breath Montana; that's the smell of smoke free state businesses. Today is the first day all enclosed public places and workplaces in Montana must be completely smoke free.

Originally passed by the Montana State Legislature as the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act in 2005, the bill will finally take full effect today. And if bars don't comply, they'll be warned, then fined -- but with a twist. Instead of random compliance checks, fines will be levied dependent on a customer complaint, a loophole that could theoretically let some local bars to still allow smoking, despite the statewide ban. Some places, like Sportspage Bowl in Polson, implemented a smoking ban a few months prior to the statewide date, hoping to get customers used to the idea of smoking outside.

"We went smoke free on July 1," Sportspage owner Glenda Woods said. "A lot of the tourism is in July and August, and most people from out of state are already used to a smoking ban. A couple of our bartenders are smokers, and even they wanted it."

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