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The Pan-Arabia Enquirer

New smirking ban hits Lebanon’s upmarket bars

business

New smirking ban hits Lebanon’s upmarket bars

Businesses counting loses after ban on smirking takes toll on VIP nightspots
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BEIRUT: A ban on smirking in enclosed public places has prompted protests across Lebanon.

The ban, which came into affect earlier in the week, has already hit expensive, upmarket bars where smiling in an affected, self-satisfied manner is ubiquitous. Anyone breaking the ban faces a $90 fine, while bars who turn a blind eye to smirking could be fined up to $2,700.

“It’s completely ridiculous,” said Beirut bar owner Fadi Rhinoplasty. “People have been smirking in my exclusive cocktail lounge for years, it’s traditional to sit there with a smug look on your face while supping a hideously overpriced drink amid our ostentatious settings.”

Rhinoplasty, like many other bar owners across Beirut, believe the ban with hurt their businesses, with several hinting that they could be forced to close.

“About 70 per cent of my customers are regular smirkers, as you probably would have to be if you can afford my prices and have made it past the doorman,” he said.

There are fears similar smirking bans across the region could be even more damaging, particularly for VIP nightspots in Dubai.

“I just don’t know what we’d do if [the smirking ban] was brought into force here,” said Peregrine Farqua-Tosschops, owner of Dubai-based Club Smug. “We’d be ruined.”

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5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. rk

    September 6, 2012 at 2:01 am

    Life is becoming hard

    Reply

  2. Anonymous

    September 6, 2012 at 8:03 am

    while a funny idea, rather badly executed (written).

    Reply

  3. kirtc

    September 6, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    ya its just a normal story , replaced with smirking instead of smoking, lame

    Reply

  4. Ali Jams

    January 15, 2013 at 1:50 pm

    It made me laugh out loud. Your stories are original and funny; better than the Onion in my opinion.

    The last two comments are clearly from a pair of regular smirks, and I will smugly note their lack of ability to construct a proper sentence.

    Reply

  5. HHH

    July 11, 2015 at 8:28 pm

    I laughed so hard reading this article that tears rolled down my sunburnt cheeks!!! Highly talented writer!!

    Reply

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