On March 30th the city of New York became a smoke-free city.



The ban, pushed zealously by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, covers all workplaces, including bars, club, restaurants, bingo parlors and all other venues not covered by the city's previous smoking law.



Owners of establishments could be fined $400 for allowing smoking and eventually could have their business licenses suspended. Smoking rooms (enclosed and ventilated rooms) are unacceptable under this new law.



The bans have led to fears that bars will go out of business.



This new non-smoking law is considered to be just another way of taking away New York's characteristic hedonistic and lively reputation.



In the past few years Times Square has been cleansed of its trashy appeal, cabaret laws (and respective expensive licenses) have been put into place therefore disallowing dancing in certain establishments, and no longer can one drink alcoholic beverages in parks.



About 400 communities nationwide have adopted smoking bans in restaurants, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation