CLEVER SMOKERS IN MINNESOTA HAVE FOUND A LOOPHOLE IN THE STATE’S NEW SMOKING BAN:
March 7th, 2008On October 1st of last year, it became illegal to smoke in restaurants or bars in Minnesota.
(–Many states have laws banning smoking in public places. Check out your state, here . . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_smoking_bans_in_the_United_States.)
–But there are about 30 bars in Minnesota where people are still smoking . . . and NOT getting the usual $300 fine and misdemeanor charge. That’s because they found a loophole in the no-smoking ban . . .
–There’s a stipulation in the ban that says ACTORS are allowed to smoke during theatrical productions . . . as long as the audience is notified . . . because the cigarettes are considered PROPS.
–One bar in Maplewood, Minnesota (–near St. Paul), called The Rock is regularly staging what they call, quote, “theater nights.”
–During theater nights, customers pretend they are actors . . . so they can smoke. When they come into the bar . . . they even pass the “Props Department” . . . which is just a stack of black ashtrays.
–The bar also makes up fake playbills that list the names of bartenders and security guards . . . and say they’re playing the ROLES of bartenders and security guards.
–And at Barnacles Resort and Campground in Aitkin, Minnesota, they came up with an even more outrageous idea. They had a “Medieval Night” where everyone dressed in costume and spoke with an accent . . . just so they could smoke.
–The Minnesota Health Department has caught on to the whole thing . . . and they said they’ll fine a bar $10,000 if it’s caught putting on a fake theater night.
(Associated Press)
