Cheyenne smoking ban takes effect
CHEYENNE - Bar employees reported plenty of grumbling but said customers were compliant on the first day of a new no-smoking ordinance.
Crystal Good, 22, joined a group of friends last week who went out of their way to smoke inside a bar before the ban went into effect.
"It feels like they are taking another one of my rights away, and I just wanted to enjoy it," said Good, puffing on a cigarette at a Cheyenne bar.
It was her first cigarette since she quit three years ago.
Russ Edgar said the ordinance was an inconvenience and would take some getting used to.
"I keep reaching for my pack," said Edgar, a 46-year-old truck driver and carpenter who planned to spend less time and money in bars.
Police Chief Bob Fecht said he wasn't aware of any citations by his officers the first day and that police planned to first warn smokers who mistakenly break the law.
The ordinance forbids smoking in nearly every public building, including bars and restaurants, and prohibits smoking within 10 feet of a public entryway. Smoke shops are exempt from the rule.
A similar ordinance has been enacted in Laramie.
The city has produced brochures and an advertising campaign to educate the public about the smoking ban, which the City Council adopted after intensive public debate over several weeks.
"They're not going to like it. They have the right to protest it. But when it comes time for the law to go into effect, 99 percent of our community is going to follow it," Fecht said.
