Stillman's tired old fallacies gain their power solely through repetition and ignorance. This is a classic mis-framing of the argument. Just as laws prevent drinking alcohol or spitting tobacco in certain places, the NYC law prohibits smoking only in specified public places. The example is hypothetical because it never happens.
Most smokers graciously understand that others have a right to be free of their smoke.
Even the most obtuse are hardly trivial enough to defy the law unless they have the restaurant's active collaboration. The New York Observer reports that the National Smokers' Alliance funded a mailing to NYC's 10,000 restaurants urging them to attend a Dept. of Health hearing. And as New Yorkers can readily see, business is booming. Stillman avers that mokers will go to restaurants in Nassau County. Hardly likely, except in bordering areas, but Nassau is working on its own smoke-free bill, as are many areas in New Jersey and upstate New York.