News 12 at 6 o'clock / Friday, Jan. 27, 2012

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta's law department has put the final touches on a plan that would ban smoking in public places in Augusta.

"When you ban smoking, you are basically shutting down my business," said bar owner Rachel Brewer.

Brewer has a message for leaders reviewing a new draft that would ban smoking in public places like bars and restaurants.

"Bad idea for the small business owner," she said.

Eric Bailey, with the American Cancer Society, challenges them to prove it.

"And I don't like to call it a smoking ban because we are not taking away peoples individual freedom to smoke," he said.

But even the mayor pro tem is torn.

"When you look at it from the constitutional level, I think it's a bad idea," said Mayor Pro Tem Joe Bowles, who admits the chances of stopping the ban may have been snuffed out with the new draft. "I think the votes are there to pass it."

The challenge is now enforcing the ban.

Any person caught smoking in a banned area faces a $50 fine. Businesses face $100 to $500 fines, and they could lose their business licenses.

"I'm hoping we can do something to protect the small bars of Augusta that have customers who come in to enjoy a beer and a cigarette," Bowles said.

Bowles wants to exempt bars with four or five workers. The draft always calls for banning smoking in cars with children under 18.

"Why not?" questioned Commissioner Corey Johnson. "We should be one of the model cities that promotes that."

But Bowles disagrees.

"I think our policemen have better things to do than ride around looking for people smoking with children in their car," Bowles said.

The divisions are clear when it comes to individual rights.

"They do have the individual freedom to smoke," Bailey said. "But they don't have the right to subject other individuals who do not smoke to secondhand smoke."

Some say let's make a deal.

"Don't ban it," Brewer said. "Find a compromise."

The draft says restaurants may designate 20 percent of the area outside the restaurant as smoking, provided the outdoor area is at least 50 percent of the size of the indoor area.

This latest draft calls for the Planning and Development Department to enforce the law. Commissioners could vote on the draft within the next two weeks.