Almost two years have passed since the Smoke-Free Air Act was implemented to ban smoking in bars and restaurants in New York City.

The Madison City Council recently followed suit when it approved a similar measure April 15 to stamp out smoking in Madison.

The Smoke-Free Air Act was amended in May 2003 in response to the complaints of employees working in smoky bars and restaurants.

“Secondhand smoke … kills approximately 1,000 New Yorkers each year,” New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said in a 2003 release.

The act included exceptions for establishments that receive most of their income from selling tobacco and cigars, something the Madison smoking ban does not include.

“An amendment to allow smoking after 10 p.m. didn’t pass,” Ald. Austin King, District 8, said. “We also offered an amendment for cigar bars, but that didn’t pass either.”

King admitted the smoking ban was not one of his favorite ordinances, but overall he does not believe it will hurt Madison businesses.

“I’m hoping there’s a long phase-in for bars to open outdoor spaces for people to drink and smoke,” King said. “I’m glad it’s taking effect over the summer. It will give more time to adjust.”

Although some people see drinking and smoking as going hand in hand, college students who go out in New York City have found the ban not as inhibiting as many people first expected.

Bill Harlow, a sophomore at Columbia University in New York and a smoker, said the ban was irritating at first.

However, Harlow, who feels secondhand smoke is a big issue and is glad to see the city address it, said the benefits outweigh the costs.

“It’s nice to come home after a night out and not have all of my clothes reek of cigarette smoke anymore,” Harlow said.

Harlow said the ban doesn’t seem to have an effect on bar business, as smokers congregate outside and then funnel in after they have had their cigarettes.

“The bars are as crowded as ever on a Saturday night,” Harlow said. “It can be inconvenient to have to go outside for a smoke in the wintertime, but most people are much more annoyed by the $8 price tag for cigarettes in the city.”

Columbia University sophomore Becca Phipps agreed with Harlow regarding business after the ban.

“People do their smoking outside, and I honestly haven’t noticed a change for better or worse in terms of business,” said Phipps.

For bar-going nonsmokers like Phipps, the ban has made her bar experience more enjoyable.

“Personally, I would actually have been more likely to opt out of going to a bar before the ban because of [being engulfed in smoke at bars],” said Phipps.

Phipps agreed with Harlow that the ban seemed annoying for smokers when first enacted, but it does not seem to be a major annoyance anymore.

“I’ve heard smokers complain, but not that much,” Phipps said. “I hardly ever hear complaints anymore.”

Phipps and Harlow agree that fewer residents in the city are smoking.

Employees at bars and restaurants where smoking was once allowed could not escape the secondhand smoke.

According to statistics from the city’s Health Commissioner, restaurant and bar workers breathe in more secondhand smoke than any other working group, and are as a result, more likely to die from lung cancer.

“I believe people should be able to smoke, but I think it’s great that New York City is reducing the adverse effects of smoking for the general health of the people of the city,” Harlow said. “I smoke less frequently as a result of the ban, and I think that’s a good thing.”