NY state's tough new smoking law sets off many changes

ALBANY, N.Y. -- There won't be any more NBA championship cigars in the locker room for New York Knick players, and traditionally smoky stage performances such as "Twelve Angry Men" might become angrier.

It's been clear that New York's statewide workplace smoking ban, which took effect Thursday, changes the way bars, restaurants and nightclubs operate.

But it also reaches into other aspects of life.

Stage performances where cigarettes were props, from the gritty play "Twelve Angry Men" about a tense jury room to the standup comedy of Denis Leary, are going to have to be smoke-free, said state Health Department spokesman William Van Slyke.

Cities and counties may, however, seek waivers for specific shows and theaters, he said.

Smoking ban advocates say curbing public displays of smoking could go a long way to the kind of societal change they believe is needed to get more smokers to stop, and keep more nonsmokers from starting.

Clearing the smoke

Some areas long associated with smoky rooms were already adapting to a smokeless world.

Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, often portrayed in film as smoke-filled confessionals, have evolved into smoke-free sessions.

Life behind bars also got a head start because New York state's prisons banned indoor smoking in January 2001, said state Department of Correctional Services spokesman James Flateau.

Many colleges also had already banned smoking.

The new state law allows smoking in designated dormitory rooms, unless campus policies prohibit smoking completely, according to the state Health Department. Many State University of New York campuses are phasing out smoking rooms in dorms, said SUNY spokesman David Henahan.

Most primary and secondary schools ended smoking years ago, but allowed unions for teachers and other workers to negotiate for smoking lounges, said state Education Department spokesman Jonathan Burman.

Even that is prohibited now under the law.

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On the Web:

New York Health Department: www.health.state.ny.us