Does Sen. Rodger Breske, D-Eland, have dementia? As a tavern owner, he might. People exposed to large amounts of secondhand smoke or who smoke are at higher risk for developing dementia.

How else to explain his argument that a statewide smoking ban would affect business in bars in the middle of the state?

Is he seriously arguing that smokers in Eland will drive 225 miles to Iowa? Perhaps they will drive 100 miles north to Michigan for a quick, after-work nightcap.

Minnesota already has a statewide smoking ban, and one will take effect in Illinois in January.

The closest bars that would allow smoking would be in Iowa or Michigan.

Maybe he thinks the airline industry will collapse because Americans hate the hassles of U.S. airport security and will drive to Canada or Mexico to fly. I think not.

A statewide smoking ban will not decrease business in Eland and may even increase business since more than two-thirds of Wisconsin 's population does not smoke.

-- Mary Dechene, Madison

With no smoking, just drink at home

If you ban smoking in bars, I will never go to another bar again. And anyone I 've talked to who smokes says the same thing. We will just drink at home.

There are no-smoking bars. If people don 't like smoke, they can go there.

-- Jean Clark, Janesville

Smoke ban good, but allow exemptions

The statewide smoking ban, which includes bars and taverns, is absurd. About 50 million Americans smoke cigarettes regularly. Banning smoking in bars leaves smokers no social place to go. Any person who works at a bar should be aware that smoking takes place, and it is their choice to work there.

As a nonsmoker, I find Madison 's smoking ban to be a good thing for the most part. Eating in a smoky environment is disgusting. I shouldn 't be affected by smokers when I 've made a conscious decision to not smoke. Smoking is for the home, in a private place where you are not affecting others.

That said, the smoking ban has done horrible things for the local bar owners. Many have gone out of business or are barely getting by. A statewide smoking ban is a good idea, but there should be limitations. Certain bars should be exempted. If we make designated places for smokers to be, everybody wins.

Although the percentage of smokers has gone down over the years due to new evidence and anti-smoking propaganda, cigarettes are still part of some people 's lives. Nonsmoking bars will provide a clean, smoke-free scene for social adults and workers, while smoking bars can still exist for smokers and smoking employees.

It 's a good idea to make the workplace a safe environment for customers and employees, but some places should be set aside for those who want to smoke.

-- Molly Balch, student, Madison East High School

Bulk of evidence favors smoke ban

Wisconsin needs a smoking ban just like 20 other states have in place, including Illinois and Minnesota. We need this ban not because secondhand smoke is a nuisance, but rather because secondhand smoke is a killer.

The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General 's report concludes:

Secondhand smoke causes premature death in adults and children who do not smoke.

Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system.

Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing coronary heart disease by 25 percent to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 percent to 30 percent.

Separating smokers from non-smokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings does not eliminate the exposure to secondhand smoke.

Scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

California health officials estimate that second hand smoke kills about 3,400 non-smoking Americans annually from lung cancer, 46,000 from heart disease and 430 from SIDS.

Are our state representatives more concerned about the health of bars or the health of the employees and patrons of bars? Something is wrong with our state government if one representative can block a smoke-free bill from being voted on by the entire Senate and Assembly.

We need a statewide smoking ban that does not exclude bars, and we need it now.

-- Dan Schreiber, Middleton

Answer all questions before imposing ban

Before the Wisconsin Legislature decides to make Wisconsin bars smokeless, let 's ask some questions.

Two and a half years ago, Madison bars went smokeless. What has the smoking ban done to Madison bars? How many bars have lost revenue or closed? Has the city tax revenue been affected? What effect on all Madison businesses has the smoking ban had?

Politicians have a habit of jumping on the bandwagon without considering the consequences. As a nonsmoker, this legislation has no effect me, but Madison has gained a reputation of being unfriendly to small businesses. Can Wisconsin afford a similar reputation?

-- Michyle S. Glen, Columbus

Tavern League is ban 's largest obstacle

Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio have recently banned smoking in bars and all public places, which now makes 22 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, which have smoke-free bars. Why is Wisconsin having trouble passing the state-wide smoking ban?

The answer is the Wisconsin Tavern League.

Our legislators are afraid to cross this powerful lobby. This does not make me proud to be from Wisconsin.

A statewide smoking ban is a win-win situation for bar customers. The smoking ban will encourage smokers to quit, non-smoking customers will appreciate the improved atmosphere and there will be many new non-smoking customers. Smokers can always go outside if they have to smoke, as many of them do during the workday and at home.

Years from now we 'll look back and think it was strange that bars allowed smoking. A few years ago, most people felt they "had " to let visiting friends and relatives smoke in their homes. Now it is common practice that visitors go outside.

But our legislators are willing to waste their time and our money debating this issue over and over and over. And as we all know, this issue will not go away.

Legislators, vote for the smoking ban now and put an end to this nonsense with the Tavern League.

-- Carey Fleischmann, Middleton

Must be brave to defend our freedom

These United States were founded as the "land of the free and the home of the brave. "

Let 's not forget that in our rush to endanger tavern owners and prevent smokers from entering taverns. Sometimes it 's tough to be brave to protect others.

-- Thomas J. Rooney, Middleton

Don 't invite more government intrusion

Consideration of whether or not Wisconsin should ban smoking in public indoor places seems to raise more questions than offer solutions.

Do we really want this Legislature making more decisions on our personal freedoms? The issue of smoking has long been an easy political target because if you don 't smoke, you don 't have anything to give up! It 's easy to jump on a pedestal and preach about the horrors of smoking addiction while we raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes to $1.

Has anyone thought of the consequences if the plan to get more smokers to quit actually happened? How would we fund all the programs that are hiding under this newfound revenue bonanza?

As a 30-year-plus smoker who quit several years ago, I know the "living hell " it takes to stop and the punishment one must endure to not quit. We have given the government too much power to govern our personal freedoms, and each time we allow them to be our personal guardians, we lose even more.

Should we ban smoking statewide? Let the people decide. If a tavern owner 's business goes into decline, he will make whatever changes he needs to make to keep his business alive. Have the owners clearly post signs that lets customers know if smoking is allowed or not -- and then let us decide.

-- Merrell M. Tomlin, Cross Plains

Allow free market system to work

Wisconsin should not ban smoking in bars. Smoking is certainly an unhealthy habit, as is obesity, anorexia and alcoholism, but how many government bans do we need?

Other attempts to change society by governmental fiat had dubious results. Remember the welfare state, forced busing for school integration and the motorcycle helmet law?

On the other hand, Wisconsin 's economy is part of the American free enterprise system in which small businesses, such as taverns, thrive. Every person who 's ever walked into a tavern (smoking or not) has done so voluntarily. The free choice to patronize a bar is based on many factors, including beverages, food, entertainment, and ambiance.

Instead of Wisconsin government denying its citizens another free choice, let 's embrace the free market system with incentives for businesses that voluntarily ban smoking and let the market place, with consumer choice, decide.

Do we really want more government in our voluntary consumer choices? What do we ban next, ice cream to prevent obesity? Let the free market system work.

-- Don Krueger, Portage

Don 't relinquish your property rights

I am an ex-smoker, but I oppose a statewide smoking ban in public places.

Property rights allow one to use their private property as they wish so long as it does not interfere with others ' rights to their private property or harm anyone. It is a foundation of our freedom.

Imagine a law that prevents you from allowing guests to smoke or drink or whatever else the government feels they should protect you from in your own home. A tavern is as much private property as your home. If anyone visiting me in my home objects to my smoking, drinking, eating or other activity, they are welcome to leave. Should they call for legislation to force me to accommodate my guests against my right to property?

My guests have no more right to be there, other than by invitation, than I do at a tavern. If I am not comfortable with the conditions at any tavern I go to, I can leave and find one that meets my conditions.

As for employees, they are welcome to choose to work in any environment they choose. No force has been applied to anyone to work in conditions they disapprove of, especially when the employee knew up front what the working conditions would be like.

-- Bruce Rideout, Madison

Could we consider total smoking ban?

Wisconsin should not ban smoking in bars as long as tobacco products are legal to sell in the state.

I would go along with banning the sale and use of tobacco products in Wisconsin, but the Legislature would never do that due to the huge lose of revenue from tobacco taxes. But we can dream.

-- John A. Kaisermann, Warrens

Honor our right to breathe clean air

The proposal to make Wisconsin a smoke-free state was clouded in smoke when the state Senate changed leaders -- and the new leader said we can 't be smoke-free because tavern owners say it 's bad for business.

As one of the state 's biggest health advocacy groups, the American Lung Association implores that leader -- and all of us -- to face the truth about the Breathe Free Wisconsin Act.

Secondhand smoke kills. It kills about the same number of people as traffic accidents in this state. That 's a fact, and it 's a tragedy.

We agree this is about "rights, " and we all have a right to breathe clean air.

-- Donna Wininsky, American Lung Association of Wisconsin, Brookfield

Today's ventilation makes it non-issue

As a former smoker I remember the hours, days, weeks, months, years after I quit, smelling and watching others enjoying a smoke. I was in hell! Fortunately, I had the mental capability to adapt to that stress and therefore did not need the state to remove smokers with a smoking ban.

The bottom line is that smoking is being banned because there are former smokers without the mental capability of stopping unless they have a completely smokeless world.

I will grant that secondhand smoke is a health issue if you live in a two-bedroom apartment without an exhaust vent in the kitchen or bathroom. But considering today 's ventilation systems in public buildings, I do not think secondhand smoke is a problem.

I remember, in the 1950s, leaving a bar because my eyes were burning from the smoke, but those days are long gone. When was the last time you even smelled a cigarette, in an ashtray, in a bar, two feet from you?

Today in Fitchburg, where smoking is allowed, I could not smell smoke even though half the bar was smoking (they were run out of Madison). But then again, smelling smoke has nothing to do with inhaling it.

-- Roland C. Beiswanger, Madison