[extraduder_ire]

While I prefer non-smoking sections indoors, generally, I've been in a few coffeeshops with such good ventilation that the air felt better inside than on the street. (though that might have been an illusion from it being cold)

IIRC, the country I'm in was the first to ban smoking indoors at venues. 2003 or so, I believe. I was a kid, so I didn't really notice it aside from the warning signs and the first time I went abroad.

[dredmorbius]

When I was a kid, children (or at least teen-agers) could work in foodservice spaces in which smoking was permitted. By end of shift, clothing and hair smelled like an ashtray.

The smoking bans I'm familiar with were phased in beginning in the 1990s, though specifics varied by locale (some cities and counties were earlier on the ban) and type of location (offices, restaurants, bars, etc.).

There are still 12 US states without comprehensive smoking bans, virtually all in the deep south: AL, AR, GA, KT, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WV, WY. (SD and WY are the exceptions.)

Notably, the famed liberal strongholds of Missouri and Mississippi do have restaurant smoking bans.