Snitching is still officially encouraged by new Ohio smoking laws scheduled to take effect at the end of the month, but anonymous snitching by itself won't be grounds for a fine. That's just one of the new developments in the statewide ban on indoor smoking, which voters approved last November but hasn't yet been enforced.

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) filed proposed regulations March 21 with the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, hashed out the measures this month. Enforcement will begin May 3, according to Kristopher Weiss, spokesman for the health department.

The regulations include concessions to veterans' groups, some of which want to allow smoking in their lodges. If a club's only employees are members of the organization, smoking can be allowed.

"Private club representatives have consistently asked ODH to fashion rules that reflect the exemption they believed they had under the law passed in November," says ODH Acting Director Anne R. Harnish. "Changes made after a thorough review by our lawyers allow us to do just that."

As approved by voters, the law also exempts tobacco shops, hotels and nursing homes, allowing them to establish smoking areas.

Since Dec. 7, 2006, it has technically been illegal in Ohio to smoke in any restaurant, bar, bowling alley or other place of public accommodation. But many businesses have ignored the law, knowing the state had postponed enforcement.

The law bans the presence of ashtrays in indoor public places and requires the placement of "No smoking" signs. A first offense, by a smoker or a business, will bring a warning letter. Thereafter, smokers face fines of $100 for violating the ban. Businesses that allow smoking can be punished with fines from $100 to $2,500 for repeat offenses.

The law directed ODH or its designees to enforce the smoking ban. ODH has passed that duty on to local health departments.

Businesses must post signs including a toll-free number for reporting violations of the smoking ban. But don't hold your breath waiting for the cigarette police to show up and stop someone from smoking. When Columbus gets the complaint, the process has just begun.

"The complaint will be referred to the local health department," Weiss says. "This is a civil law, and enforcement is complaint-driven."

The revised rules state that an anonymous complaint alone can't form the basis for a violation. They instead will lead to investigations.

If the dormancy period since the law was passed is any indication, local health departments are going to be very busy. In the months since it opened the snitch hotline, ODH has received 40,000 calls, including 15,000 complaints, Weiss says.

Despite popular belief, there is no sidewalk restriction. The law approved by voters instead bans smoking in areas where smoke will get indoors.

"We debated the distance requirement and decided not to have one," Weiss says. "The law says smoke shall not migrate into the restricted areas. If a business asks you to move and you don't, they could file a complaint."

That is, file a complaint with Columbus, which will send it back to the health department serving the location where the offense occurred, which will investigate the incident — long after you've stomped out your butt and moved along.

— Gregory FlannerySmoking Hot

The cultural icons who made us want to light up

The amount of money the following smoking idols made for tobacco makers is probably more than what came in as a result of all of the companies' advertising schemes combined.

It's shocking — and often hilarious — today to see an old commercial featuring a celebrity like Steve McQueen ("Viceroy, the thinking man's filter, the smoking man's taste") or a sports star like New York Yankees first baseman Joe Collins ("I've smoked Camels for years and I think I know why they're so popular") shilling squares. Though perhaps those aren't as startling as Fred Flintstone hawking Winstons in the early '60s — you think tobacco companies target young smokers now?

We're not here to bum you out, so all references to any smoking-related illness or deaths have been omitted.

1. James Dean: When it comes to the word "cool," is there anyone more deserving of dictionary-etching status than Dean? That oft mimicked, never replicated wince, the perfectly tousled hair, the introspective brooding and defiant rebellion — the cigarette was a natural, fluid extension of that indefinable aura. Probably responsible for more black lungs than the entire West Virginia coal mining industry. By dying at 24, Dean also saved us the trauma of seeing him grow old and show the physical effects of his alleged two-pack-a-day Chesterfield habit. That iconic image — smoke included — is preserved for eternity.

2. Keith Richards: It almost seems like the ubiquitous cigarette dangling from his lips is a balancing mechanism, the only thing keeping him from falling over. It's the archetypal image of guitar-player coolness. Keith defies indoor smoking bans worldwide when the Stones are on tour. Others did it before him, but chances are when you see a guitarist smoking while performing (or putting the cig in his or her instrument's tuning keys), Richards was the impetus. The recently announced news that he snorted his father's ashes was surprising only in that Richards didn't smoke 'em instead.

3. The Rat Pack: Coolest "gang" ever? Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and others — talk about a supergroup. The posse's mythological Vegas shows and film-set antics were soaked in booze and clouded by smoke. They greatly enhanced smoking's image as an essential utensil for skirt-chasing and hanging out with the fellas. There's a rumor that Sinatra was buried with a Zippo and a pack of Camels.

4. Humphrey Bogart: I predict in the next 25 years or so there will be a movement to have cigarettes digitally removed from old movies. They've already done it to cartoons like Tom and Jerry and album covers by Bruce Springsteen and Robert Johnson. But most classic Bogie flicks just wouldn't be the same without them. A cigarette was as integral to Bogart's image as his fedora. Taking the smoking out of Casablanca would be like removing one of the main characters — Rick's all alone at the end, but he still has his smokes, all a "real man" really needs. Cigs were even called "bogies" in his honor.

5. Bette Davis: Once upon a time, smoking was seen as "unladylike." Davis, one of the greatest American actresses, helped change that stereotype, not by making smoking more "feminine" but by making it a sign of power, superiority, self-assurance and sometimes total insanity. A biographer once claimed that she did more for the tobacco industry than any other actor in history. She made smoking seem romantic — in 1942's Now, Voyager, the scene where Paul Henreid places two smokes in his mouth, lights them and then passes one to Bette is one of the most memorable moments in celluloid history.

6. Edward R. Murrow: When I first started writing for a living, the first newspaper I worked at allowed smoking in the office. I could type and puff at will in a downtown office building. To this day, when I write extensively, I need frequent smoke breaks to allow me to think about what I'm doing. I view the habit as a way to kick-start my thought process and stimulate ideas. I imagine Murrow felt the same way. He smoked during his nightly network newscasts. It wasn't about being cool — somehow, it was helping Murrow find the truth! I'll take a journalist who chain smokes and calls bullshit on bullshit over a pink-lunged propaganda regurgitator every day of the week.

7. Johnny Carson: Today's talk show host's desk has a coffee cup, maybe a fake microphone, some notes and whatever crap the guests are peddling that night. Carson had all that and an ashtray. His subtle drags and that thin layer of smoke created a casual, party atmosphere on The Tonight Show. When guests lit up too, cigarettes became a conversational device.

8. James Bond: If you make a list of "Coolest Motherfuckers Ever" and you don't have 007 up there pretty high, your list isn't justifiable. I haven't seen any of the newer James Bond movies, but I'm guessing the double agent doesn't smoke in them. In those older, better Bond films, JB's shaken-not-stirred martinis were usually accompanied by a smoke. Perhaps the fictional character who has glamorized smoking more than any other in film and literature, Bond used cigarettes as a chaser, a post-coital comedown or a flirtation device.

9. Hunter S. Thompson: Ahh, the long cigarette holder. Seemingly designed for rich people who didn't want their dainty fingertips anywhere near those filthy butts, it's been the sign of flappers, FDR, villainy (Cruella DeVille, The Penguin) and snootiness (Princess Margaret, Audrey Hepburn). But Gonzo reinvented cigarette-holder etiquette and technique, clenching it in his jaws as if he were getting an unending dental X-ray.

10. Johnny Depp: If you read an interview with Depp, who played Thompson in the Fear and Loathing movie, there's a 98.2 percent chance that the writer will mention how much Johnny smokes during their conversation. The other 1.8 percent probably did phoners (though most of those likely contained some reference to the lighter flicking in the background every three-and-a half-minutes). Depp has smoked in some movies, such as The Ninth Gate and Secret Window, but sadly not in Edward Scissorhands. Johnny once went around telling reporters that he wanted to start his own airline called AirSmoke, where smoking would be mandatory. Save us a seat, John!

Honorable Mentions

· Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz: On I Love Lucy, the redhead and hubby Desi/Ricky had a cigarette box they'd use like a candy dish. On the show, cigs represented one of America's relaxing, end-of-the-work-day amenities.

· The Beats: Poets and writers like Kerouac, Burroughs, etc. changed the face of literature and produced the "beatnik" stereotype — bongos, goatees and an endless flow of cigarettes.

· The Beatles: Four of the most famous people in the world, with an almost crack-like power over teenagers, all smoked during their heyday and beyond.

· Tom Waits: He reportedly hasn't had a cigarette since 1980, but Waits' voice is the embodiment of gravelly soul that could only come from extensive smoking.

· Bill Hicks: Beleaguered comedic legend Lenny Bruce used cigarettes as punctuation marks. For the Bruce-like Bill Hicks — one of the greatest, most underrated comedians of all time — smoking was an integral part of his act.

· John Wayne: He should be higher on the list, no doubt a hero to innumerable people during the height of his immeasurable Hollywood fame. But Wayne loses points for his anti-smoking campaign for the American Cancer Society.

· Tupac Shakur: You may have noticed the scarcity of black people on this list. For some reason, smoking cigarettes appears to not be as closely tied to black celebrities — but if you don't know how influential hip-hop artists are when it comes to appearance, you might be Amish.

· Sean Penn: Spicoli went from toking massive quantities of weed (in a movie, anyway) to a rumored four-pack-a-day habit. Penn's "angry young man" image wouldn't be the same without his assembly-line approach to smoking.

· The Marlboro Man: That leathery face, those steely eyes, that manly-man self-confidence — the exec who thought up this cowboy surely is in the Advertising Hall of Fame. — Mike Breen