Just over a week since the New Orleans City Council unanimously passed a comprehensive smoking ban, Mayor Mitch Landrieu added his signature to the proposal on Friday and started the countdown for when ashtrays will disappear from bars, casinos and restaurants.

With Landrieu’s signature, the clock begins ticking towards April 22, when the ban will go into effect, 90 days after the council passed the proposal.

The ban does not apply to cigar stores who can show they were in business prior to Dec. 10, 2014, and which draw at least 10% of their business from the sale of cigars or humidor rentals.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.