Stop whining and just do it. Quit contributing to your public, somewhat socially acceptable suicide and stop smoking. You know it makes you wrinkly, smelly and shortens your life, not to mention your cancer sticks are a favorite victim of tax hikes that make them far too expensive. Now they're about to be banned -- finally -- from bars and restaurants in North Carolina.

Don't tell me you can't do it. You can, too. Do it. Don't make me tell you again.

The state Senate voted Thursday to ban smoking in bars and restaurants in North Carolina, setting the stage for what would be a historic prohibition of a product that created thousands of jobs, built Duke and Wake Forest universities and has long been an integral part of the culture in the nation's top tobacco-producing state.

House members passed a tougher version last month, meaning that lawmakers will still have to work out a compromise, assuming the Senate passes the measure in a second vote Monday. The bill passed Thursday by an eight-vote margin, 26-18.

Read the rest of this Charlotte Observer article here.

Smoking kills: