St. Louisans continue to resist smoking bans--including those NOT imposed by local governments. A few months ago I was in a Central West End pub and ran into a guy I know but who I'd never seen there. I used to see him all the time in the bar at Balaban's, the well-known CWE restaurant and bar. He said he was boycotting Balaban's because the new owners had banned all smoking. And he said other longtime customers who smoked had stopped going too. I dropped in. It turned out to be true. I was told the new owners were determined to keep the entire establishment--known for fine dining--smoke free. None of the regular smokers seemed to be there. This month I stopped back in. The first person I saw was a regular...who had a cigarette in his hand. He said he'd stopped coming too, but the owners had recently relented because business was down. The smokers were coming back and the bar business was coming back too. Smoking bans may be working elsewhere--whole countries in Europe--but is St. Louis ready?

1 Comments

Jumbo Jr. said:

I agree with you Mike. I don't think St. Louis is ready for a smoking ban. St. Louis is too blue collar and not green minded like the west coast. I just don't think the ban will fly.

September 14, 2007 11:37 PM

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