lowbrow + brilliant

Health Officials Not Enforcing Smoking Laws at Clubs Because They Can’t Get Past the Bouncer

Shades of Last Days of Disco (no spoiler alert, because come on, this movie is like 12 years old and if you haven’t seen it by now we were clearly not meant to be friends):

Generally, health officials have looked for signs of active tobacco use as part of their inspections concerning other rules, like those for food safety, and have cited clubs for violations that often result in fines of $200 to $2,000.

But they have had difficulty gaining access to the clubs when patrons are actually smoking.

“Some of the clubs where smoking is going on tend to be very, very cool clubs, and a bunch of guys showing up in jackets tend to be very, very uncool,” said Thomas Merrill, general counsel for the health department.

So in recent months, the department has deputized a team of inspectors — many of them younger and hipper-looking than the stereotypical bureaucrat — to work into the wee hours, posing as patrons and hunting for tolerance of smoking by clubs’ employees.