I knew that would come up, but how many other waivers do you have to apply for? You have to have a liquor license. If you sell food, you have to have a license for that too. You have to get your building inspected. If you do construction to renovate it before opening, expect to get a building permit. It's another piece of paperwork in a long line of it, but it's not something completely unheard of in society.
And besides, the key point is, after you get the waiver, you do get to run your business they way YOU want to, which is what's not often talked about with the smoking bans.
Bull! The others are not "waivers". I don't necessarily agree with all of them but I can see them for safety and health. I know you're going to say so is the ban. Wrong, the others are not something the general public can readily verify (building codes, food prep, etc). If you walk into a smoking establishment it is readily apparent. You then can immediately make a decision to stay or not. I would even go so far that they could say it has to be posted at the door (both smoking and smoke free). Anything else is fascism.
Maybe you should "apply" for a waiver to breathe, then hold your breath until some bureaucrat grants it or denies it.