New York City is one of the last major metropolitan cities in the United States to get on the anti-smoking bandwagon.

While restaurants and bars are often the first places to come under attack, rental car companies nationwide have tried to keep their cars smoke-free by disabling the cigarette lighter.

With so many people traveling with devices that require charging, disabling the cigarette lighter is a major inconvenience for people who bought an adapter specifically to convert the cigarette lighter into a charger for their GPS, computer or cell phone.

The rental car company may disable the cigarette lighter by removing its fuse, but doing so usually disables other things, such as the clock and the radio.

If a rental car’s cigarette lighter is disabled, it’s worthwhile to check its fuses. You might be able to get the lighter to work by installing a new fuse.

Rental car companies are more likely to disable a cigarette lighter by disconnecting the wire that connects the lighter to the electrical system.

This is harder to fix, requiring lifting the hood, locating the disconnected wire and reconnecting it, which might require a soldering iron.

Instead of fixing it yourself, when you make the reservation, ask the rental car company to provide a working cigarette lighter. If you reserve online, after making your reservation, call the company, request a working cigarette lighter and tell them you need it to charge electronic devices.

With smoking down in the United States and the use of portable electronic devices skyrocketing, car makers are following the suit by eliminating the ash tray/cigarette lighter combination and joining the 21st century by including power ports in new cars.

Soon, there will be no more cigarette lighters to disconnect.