A Quick Word To New York Bar Owners, Photographers, And Patrons

You know how everyone has been complaining about the Health Department enforcing the smoking ban? And you know how everyone's favorite haunts, including Lit Lounge, The Box, and Southside might be shut down? And Tom Martignetti declared it a witch hunt? We have a modest proposal for you all.-

Stop flaunting the fact that you're all still smoking in bars. Seriously.

Guest of a Guest has covered smoking in bars extensively. We posted The Smokers Guide To Manhattan Friendly Nightspots pre-crackdown, and have kept up-to-date with the post ban crackdown. We are, therefore, aware that blogs are part of the issue. I think Billy Gray rues the day he ever unwittingly played part in it. [On Second Thought, Just Obey The Damn Smoking Ban]

That having been said, when we cover events and parties, we aren't going to comb the pictures to make sure no one is smoking. (By the way, in most of the smoking pictures, the patron is VERY aware of the camera. So it's not like they got caught off-guard, secretly smoking in a corner or something.

Anyway, here are some friendly tips:

Bar Owners: Where there's smoke there's fire. Meaning, if someone in your bar is smoking, and there is a professional photographer around, stop one or the other.

Photographers: Don't take pictures of people smoking.

Patrons: You REALLY want your picture to be taken with this cigarette? Fine. But don't come complaining to us when your favorite watering hole gets shut down because of a picture someone saw on the internet.

These pictures, by the way, are all recent: