Council to debate smoking ban

INDIANAPOLIS -- A city-county councilwoman wants to ban smoking in restaurants and bars in the state's largest city.\nIf her idea is approved, Indianapolis would join more than 60 other cities nationwide, including Fort Wayne, with similar ordinances.\n"If we consider ourselves an up-and-coming city, we should be a leader in this area," said GOP Councilwoman Beulah Coughenour, who planned to introduce a proposal based on Fort Wayne's law next month.\nBloomington already prohibits smoking in public buildings, city buses, restaurants and theatres. But, the city does permit smoking in designated smoking areas.\nFort Wayne, the state's second-largest city with a population of 205,000, passed its smoking ban in 1999.\nIndianapolis, with a population of more than 780,000, would join cities in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon and West Virginia with similar bans, according to the California-based American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation.\nMayor Bart Peterson has not taken sides, and council members have expressed mixed emotions.\nSupporters cited the unhealthy impact of secondhand smoke on employees and patrons, while opponents said smokers' rights should be safe from government intrusion.\nShannon Rogers, marketing manager of The Rathskeller, was uncertain how a ban would affect the restaurant. The main dining room is smoke-free, but smoking is allowed in the bar.\n"One side of me is OK if they pass the law. But on the other side, I don't know how the customers would feel," Rogers said.