Kudos to the few state senators, all Democrats from New York City, who spoke up against the statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants that suddenly became law yesterday. Martin Connor of Brooklyn, noting that obesity is undeniably more fatal than breathing second-hand smoke, offered a “modest proposal”: “Why don’t we legislate that meals offered in restaurants have to include no more than four ounces of lean meat, legumes, a grain, and two servings of fresh fruit?” he said. “We could save a lot of lives if we did that.”

And John Sabini of Queens, late of the City Council, wondered at the hypocrisy of a state government that depends on tobacco taxes to balance its budget, but makes pariahs of the law-abiding citizens who pay those taxes.

Finally, Thomas Duane of Greenwich Village, though he voted yes, raised the question of process. He recalled that Mayor Bloomberg — the nanny mayor responsible for the restrictions that take effect in the city this Sunday — at least gave his opponents the chance to rail at him in lengthy public hearings. He and the City Council even agreed to modest concessions in response.

In Albany, by contrast, a ban even more draconian than Mr. Bloomberg’s went from introduction to governor’s signature in less than four days, without the slightest opportunity for those affected — namely, smokers and the businesses that choose to serve them — to state their case. As a result, the state legislature has bulldozed the meager exemptions allowed under the city law, for restaurants with separately ventilated smoking rooms and small owner-operated taverns. Tax-paying entrepreneurs who have already invested in such facilities, in good-faith compliance with the mayor’s regime, are apparently out of luck. “I know we think we know better than everybody,” Mr. Duane said. “But it can’t hurt for us every once in a while to hear a few tidbits of wisdom from everyday people.”