Tobacco.org

Smoking ban cuts the butts at Asheville area bars, restaurants 

"I smoke about a third less than I did (before the ban)," Merchant said, after smoking a cigarette on the patio at Hannah Flanagan's Irish Pub on Biltmore Avenue one recent evening.

And it appears the law is working at most of the 856 Buncombe County bars and restaurants covered under the smoke-free law. From Jan. 2 through the end of February, the Buncombe County Department of Health received just 32 complaints concerning violations of the ban at restaurants and bars, the majority of them reported in the first couple of weeks of the law.

Four bars have been sent warning letters, but no establishment has been fined. Allstars Sports Bar and Grille on Hendersonville Road received its first warning letter in late January, and manager Cory Clay said the bar has made sure its patrons who smoke go outside before lighting up.

Jump to full article »