Let me start by saying that I quit smoking about 8 years ago for my health and am happy that I have. It is bad for ones health. Quitting was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Any one whom has ever smoked can attest to this.
Back when some cities and states started making it illegal to smoke in public places it was said that less than 30% of the population still smoked. I went to a pool room for three nights and ended up asking around 150 people if they smoked or not. According to my simple survey, over 80% of the people frequenting the room smoked. Quite a difference from what the officials stated that normal people do. As every pool player knows, pool is a pressure game. For smokers, the more pressure the more they need a cigarette or some other means to calm the pressure.
Those that don't smoke are lucky as they don't need a cigarette to calm their nerves as smokers do. As far as I'm concerned, not allowing smokers to smoke is probably the biggest shark that can be performed against them akin to someone dropping fire crackers behind them while stroking.
It's funny that non-smokers had no problems for 125 years in going into smoke filled rooms to play but now, suddenly it is atrocious to even think such a crude thing should be allowed.
In Cincinnati in 1997 there were over 20 pool rooms, today there are 3. You can say that there probably could be other causes for that, which probably is partially true, BUT, across the Ohio river in KY where there are no smoking laws, new rooms have opened and are thriving do to the influx of Ohio players
Dick