For now, she's asking workers to keep an eye on her drinks.
"I'm trusting others leaving my beverage unattended, hoping nobody puts a roofie in my drink," she said, referring to the drug Rohypnol.
Advocates for the smoking ban call these types of concerns nonsense. Five Maryland counties - Charles, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's and Talbot - have already gone smoke-free. And Dr. Clifford Mitchell, director of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's environmental health coordination program, said he has heard of no such problems from these jurisdictions.
Mitchell suggested that some streets might even be safer at night with increased traffic from smokers.
As for unattended drinks, "I can't speak specifically to that, but people should be safe," he said. "We're anticipating and expecting business owners will not allow patrons to be in jeopardy."
Maryland joins more than 2,200 communities and about 20 states with a version of a smoking ban.
State officials say the ban will be enforced through complaints and investigations by local health officers. The first violation will result in a written reprimand, followed by increasing fines. Businesses can apply for hardship waivers if they can prove a substantial sales loss.
Flynn, manager of the bar tucked underneath Kumari Restaurant on Charles Street, said that since implementing his own smoking ban, sales at Liam's have increased slightly as customers turned off by cigarette smoke have returned.
In Howard County - smoke-free for eight months - officials have not received any complaints of lost revenue, said Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, the county's health officer. Since the Howard ban took effect, the county's smoking hot line has received about three dozen calls, but no fines have been issued, Beilenson said.
"The biggest news is that there is no news," Beilenson said. "It came in with a bang and went out with a whimper."
But officials with the Restaurant Association of Maryland, which fought the smoking ban, say they are concerned for owners of mom-and-pop bars, places more common in Baltimore and other jurisdictions outside of Howard County.
Melvin R. Thompson, the lobbying group's vice president, said he has received about 50 calls from owners during the past two months with questions about hardship waivers and the rules for outdoor smoking areas.
Still, other restaurant owners are growing more confident that patrons will adapt.
