An historic day in North Carolina as a smoking ban in many public places is signed into law.

With the stroke of a pen, in the old house chamber in the state capitol building, Governor Bev Perdue extinguished smoking in most bars and restaurants.

The ban goes into effect Jan. 2, 2010. Cigar bars and private clubs are exempted. Violators could be fined up to $50 after being warned and businesses could be fined up to $200 after being warned. The ban will be enforced by local health directors.

"This is really in no exaggeration in the word an absolutely an historic day for this great state that was built initially on the backbone of tobacco,” Perdue said.

Perdue said banning smoking will help decrease the dangers of secondhand smoke and lower health care costs for families.

House members, bill supporters and health activists joined the governor in making history, including bill sponsor and lung cancer survivor Representative Hugh Holliman.

"I think this bill is a huge step forward for public health in North Carolina,” Holliman said.

But some people, like bar owner William Paul Sessum, believe club owners should be able to decide if smoking is allowed.

"We are fortunate we have a patio out front that overlooks Glenwood where people will be able to smoke, but there's lots of places on the street that don't have that ability and they'll suffer greatly,” Sessum said.

The smoking ban is frustrating to Manager Jeremy Douglas at MacGregor Draft House in Cary. In an effort to be proactive, the restaurant and bar spent thousands on two ventilations systems or “smoke eaters” about a year and a half ago to try and keep the air clean on the smoking and non-smoking sides of the establishment.

"We definitely did not anticipate the smoking ban going in here I don't think we would have spent the money if we did,” Douglas said. "I think we might lose some business but I think on the other hand we might gain a lot of business."


In fact, The Raleigh Times's smoking section has a handful of tables and a bar with seating for about a dozen, while the business's three other converted storefronts can seat several dozen in nonsmoking areas.

Even one of the most tobacco-friendly states in the country apparently favors more smoking restrictions. An Elon University poll in March found about two-thirds of North Carolinians backed a ban on indoor public smoking. Eight in 10 said they consider secondhand smoke a threat to their health.

The number of North Carolina residents smoking has slid in recent years to match the national average of about 21 percent in 2007, the last year for which comparable data is available. By comparison, nearly 29 percent of Kentucky residents smoked.

A couple of blocks away from The Raleigh Times, workers at Irish pub Tir Na Nog welcomed the coming smoking ban.

"I think most bartenders would appreciate this because it's more in their face than the servers," said bartender Eric Russell, a smoker who is thinking about quitting.

At night, when bands start up, the pub's doors are closed to hold in the noise, and smokers are allowed throughout the restaurant instead of being confined to the bar, the indoor air "gets nasty" even for him and despite the 15-foot ceilings, said Russell, 28.

Pub owner Peter Pagano, who bought the business four years ago, said he expects once the law takes effect, he may see alcohol sales decrease initially, but that would be balanced by more patrons willing to eat out again once all restaurants are smoke-free.

"I think that will give smokers something of a refuge," said Pagano, 31.

The smoking ban would make the Irish pub a little more authentic since the Republic of Ireland banned smoking in bars in 2004 and Northern Ireland in 2007, said general manager Annie Nice, a native of Northern Ireland.

"It'll be nice," she said of the coming ban. "I don't smoke and it would save me some dry cleaning."