Drag King: Bill Hannegan can't stop huffing and puffing about smoking bans in St. Louis

Comments (0) By Keegan Hamilton Wednesday, Jan 21 2009

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Such steadfast devotion to his cause has made Hannegan a veritable messiah to local smokers and libertarian groups that admire his hands-off government ideals.

"He is kind of a dog with the bone," says Tony Palazzolo, a cigar lover who began supporting Hannegan's efforts after seeing some comments he'd left on a local blog. "He's committed to it, that's for certain. I'm pretty committed, but he's putting his own money into it."

Jennifer Silverberg

Bill Hannegan lights up an American Spirit in the bar of Herbie's Vintage 72.

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Hannegan, meanwhile, is confident that a smoking ban in St. Louis won't be coming anytime soon. Presently, there is no legislation pending or ballot initiative being circulated that would prohibit smoking indoors in the state, city or county. Still, he has no plans to quit blowing smoke at supporters of smoking bans.

"It never really stops," he says. "I'll be working, and I'm thinking about what's going on, what's next, who am I going to write, what am I going to say. When you get into a cause, it doesn't really stop, and it's always in your head. I've seen people get caught up in causes, and it can be a problem because it takes over your life."