I told everyone that Madison is different...

I just heard today, that after an early January visit to cold and snowy Madtown, none other than the Hitch decided to quit smoking.

After the drinks arrive I offer Hitchens one of my Marlboro Lights. Then something life-changing happens. Cool as a cucumber - and with no hint of remorse - Hitchens announces that he has given up smoking. "I got up yesterday morning in Madison, Wisconsin, and I just threw my pack away," he says.

I have no way of knowing if he has stayed on the wagon, but this does point to one potential resultant of smoking bans in bars in really cold places.... Smokers get cold too, and if you have to stand in sub-zero temps for your fix, well it doesn't seem quite as important. I have to admit that this news struck me as startling, because on his last visit in October, I personally witnessed him lighting up in the Monona Terrace Convention Center with not a care to the world.

I'm sure this health conscious decision is making some on the left twinge, since I'm sure a number were hoping that the black lung would get him sooner rather than later.