“I’m extremely angry.”

That’s the bottom line for Chapel Hill hookah bar owner Adam Bliss. The state’s ban on smoking in most bars and restaurants goes into effect January 2 and it spells the end of his business, which was funded by his life savings. From The Daily Tar Heel:

Exemptions are made for cigar bars, country clubs and tobacco retailers — but not hookah bars.

“If you look at the exemptions, they’re generally all places that rich, older white men like to smoke,” Bliss said.

“If our representatives liked to smoke in hookah bars, hookah bars would have been exempt as well.”

According to the story, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird (D-Orange) — who, by the way, is listed as a co-sponsor of the N.C. Senate’s version of the smoking ban and who voted for the ban, which you’ll find here — doesn’t know what else to do:

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange said she tried her best to help Bliss stay open but has run out of ideas.

“He put his life savings into this business, and he’s worked hard,” she said. “I certainly understand where he’s coming from.”

Sen. Kinnaird, will you support repealing this ban, now that you see the consequences right in your own backyard?