NEW YORK -- Was it a vision of the future in Milwaukee? Saturday night outside Sweet Ups, 277 Graham Ave., in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, a steady, soaking rain fell and still the smokers went out for a cigarette, huddling together beneath the awning of the shuttered business next door.

Asking around, it seemed to me that smokers are taking New York's smoking ban in stride ... or taking the opportunity to cut back or quit. Everyone I talked to -- rather humorously admitted that they only smoke while drinking and are planning on quitting, anyway.

And, really, it didn't seem as though there were nearly as many smokers as one would have seen in the past in a New York tavern.

A life-long New Yorker told me, "Maybe it'll help make people quit. Seems like a good idea." And, anyway, he added, a lot of bars allow patrons to light up around 1 a.m., banking that no one will complain or report them.

A second smoker, born and raised in Florida, agreed the ban is good and also approves of the high cigarette tax. Then he said he even understood why the MPAA would consider giving an R rating to any film in which an actor is seen smoking.

However, he said, he believes most people start smoking in their teens because they're friends are doing it, not because they saw an actor smoking on screen.

A bar like Sweet Ups has adapted to the ban by adding an outdoor seating area, where smoking is apparently allowed. But being uncovered, it's of little use to smokers on a night like Saturday.