Dispatches from the Chicago Smoking Ban

Some people I know were really upset that Chicago was going ahead with its smoking ban. As a semi-smoker, I felt pretty indifferent. When Toronto instituted its smoking ban, I liked being able to take a break, and to have a handy rip-chord when I needed it. Health issue, social issue, whatever, what I want to tell you is this: Chicago bars now smell like a big bag of diapers.

As long as these bars have been around, some for the greater part of a century, there has been smoking in them. Now without smoke, there is a faint smell of farts, human bodies, and poorly ventilated bathrooms.