Advocates push to make state a smoke-free zone Wayne E. Smith / The Detroit News Like a growing number of Michigan restaurants, Original Danny's of Sterling no longer asks its patrons whether they prefer to dine in the smoking or nonsmoking section. "Now, it's do you prefer a table or a booth," said Danny Lazar, owner of the Sterling Heights restaurant that recently banned smoking. "We get a lot of families. The smoke is just not fair to the kids." Lazar is one soldier in the escalating war against secondhand smoke, which experts say causes lung cancer in adults, respiratory problems in children and even death to thousands of people who do not smoke. Seventeen Michigan counties and two cities have banned smoking in public buildings, and more are contemplating following suit. Four local hospital systems have banned smoking on their campuses and more than 4,300 restaurants have taken ashtrays off their tables and asked Michigan smokers to step outside. Advocates are now lobbying lawmakers to join them in the war against secondhand smoke, and ban smoking in most buildings in Michigan. One bill before the Legislature aims to ban smoking in public buildings, bars and restaurants and two other bills would ban it at worksites, which some advocates interpret to mean bars and restaurants. If the bills pass, Michigan would become the 26th state to ban public smoking, but advocates for a smoke-free Michigan will have to contend with smokers and business owners who vehemently oppose such a move. "What are we going to do next -- ban us from smoking outside?" said Mick Hartman, a smoker who lives in Allen Park. "Ban us from smoking in our own houses? That's ridiculous." Exposure to secondhand smoke increases a nonsmoker's risk of developing heart disease by 25 percent to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 percent to 30 percent, according to a 2006 report by U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona. The only way to protect nonsmokers is to eliminate smoking indoors, the report said. "We need to protect Michigan workers and patrons, said Judy Stewart, spokeswoman for the Campaign for Smokefree Air, a coalition of nearly 100 organizations. "Michigan shouldn't be on the tail end of this." Two recent polls show that the majority of Michigan residents would support a ban on smoking in public buildings. The most recent, released last month by Michigan Information and Research Service, showed that 61 percent of 600 residents polled support smoke-free places. Hartman doesn't have a problem banning smoking in public buildings but banning smoking in restaurants and bars goes too far. "I cannot smoke," said Hartman, 37. "But I don't like having the choice taken away from me." Some business leaders fear a ban on smoking will impact their bottom line, but advocates say other states that have banned smoking have not seen decreases in business sales. Sales go up every year even in bad years, business advocates counter, but those figures don't tell the story of individual business sales. "Michigan is facing the worst economic situation in the country but when it comes to projected restaurant sales we are still forecasting growth of 3.7 percent this year," said Andy Deloney, spokesman for the Michigan Restaurant Association. Other organizations representing businesses add that a smoke-free decision should be made by individual business owners, said Lance Binoniemi, government affairs director for the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association, which is against a government-imposed smoking ban. "They are the ones paying the property taxes, they are paying employee wages and taxes," said Binoniemi. "It's not a public place. It's their own individual business. They are the experts in the field. They would know if their clientele would demand a smoke-free business or not." But Don Haberman, owner of The Bosco, a trendy bar in Ferndale, says he wants to ban smoking in his establishment. But he wants all bars and restaurants to be required to do the same. His customers are among those who are asking for change. "If people travel anywhere and then come back home, (Michigan) is starting to look like a dinosaur," Haberman said. "People come here and say, 'I love this bar but I can't believe you can still smoke.' It will be embarrassing if Michigan is one of the last states to ban smoking in bars and restaurants." Residents who go to smoke-free restaurants or live in communities that banned smoking in their workplace say Michigan needs to step up. "Michigan is only about 10 years behind," said Lewis Forrest, a Rochester resident who dined last weekend in Royal Oak at Spangas Coney Island, which banned smoking a month ago. "Any public place should be nonsmoking. (Many) states have laws, even in the south where they grow tobacco." Even smokers say it's not that bad. "I don't mind it," said Dave Wisely, a cleaning supervisor who took a smoke break this week outside the Compuware building in Detroit, which banned smoking in public buildings in June 2005. "It cuts down on the amount of smoking I do and I can keep up more with my work." You can reach Kim Kozlowski at (313) 222-2024 or kkozlowski@detnews.com.