Ohio smokers, pity transfat-free New York

Ohio smokers may feel put upon by the new smoking ban, but New Yorkers really have something to crow over.

The Big Apple has become the first American city to ban transfats in restaurants, effective July 1, right about the time I usually visit New York.

Transfats make your fries crisp and delicious and your pastries and pie crusts light and fluffy, among other things. My grandmother swore by Crisco, a transfat, when she made pies.

Problem is, they also can kill you more quickly that other, less artery-clogging fats.

Bakers will have a year to figure how to find a fat replacement in pastries and such.

Block for block, New York has some of the best restaurants in the world, but how will they fare if they can't add transfats?

The ruling by the city's board of health is a victory for the health of New Yorkers, but by banning an FDA approved substance is opening the city up to future litigation.

Meanwhile, Ohio smokers, you now have New York to pity.

And, oh, by the way. They won't let you smoke in restaurants and bars in New York, either.