Hi Richard,

What's different is that the smokefree business district policy and compliance with it will be included in all the vendor and performer contracts next year, so that people who violate it will not be able to work future fairs. This happened because the song and the story about it was traded around online by people who thought it was funny enough to send to the tobacco control policy director. According to her, the Mediterranean Cafe's group of young in-your-face smoking scofflaws were well known, and she decided it was time to step up a combination of education and enforcement.

The city will also do a walking campaign, merchant by merchant, to make sure they, their employees, and their customers all have clarity about not only what the policy is but also why it is good for both public health and for business. Part of the import of this is so that city staff can make sure that employers don't instruct their smoking employees to stay near the doorway (which they sometimes do) for the exact reason you pointed out- the smoke comes right inside, smokes up the supposedly smokefree street, etc. It sounds like you need one of those 25-feet-from-a-doorway laws where you are.

What's funny is that fellow who stuck his cigarette right over my fiddle probably will do the same thing.