SPRINGFIELD - Even though she runs the kitchen of a bar, Jobeth Jackson says she doesn't mind the Bloomington-Normal smoking ban too much.

She works at the Sit N Bull bar in tiny Hudson, just a short drive up the interstate from the Twin Cities. And when the ban went into effect a couple miles south, she noticed.

"Right after the smoking ban started, the phone started ringing," Jackson said. Customers were looking for a place to smoke and drink.

But supporters of a proposed statewide indoor smoking ban say that aside from the health benefits of clearing second-hand smoke from the air, it can quell competition issues among smoking and smoke-free establishments.

The plan took its first step toward becoming law Wednesday when a legislative committee approved it by an 8-0 vote.

But, Wednesday's committee vote doesn't guarantee success when the full House or Senate debates the idea.

In the committee, for example, state Rep. Mike Boland voted "yes." But, he said he may not support the measure when it reaches the full House.

"I do have a concern about bars," the East Moline Democrat said. "My thinking is that, it's their choice."

Among the coalition of health groups lined up to support the measure was Barb Nation, a Springfield resident who says second-hand smoke gave her a tumor. A part of her lung was removed.

"I can't sit in the smoking section of a restaurant because I don't have any more lungs to give," she said in her tearful committee testimony.

The health dangers of second-hand smoke have been recently reiterated by a new surgeon general's report, and anecdotes about the ill effects abound.

More than a dozen states across the country have already gone smoke free, and about 40 towns and counties around Illinois have done the same.

But the debate over smoking has been ongoing for years in Illinois. In the past couple years, lawmakers have given communities and counties the authority to ban smoking in public places. A statewide move would take that authority away with a smoke-free mandate for all public indoor areas.

Jackson says more restrictions won't have a positive effect for her clientele, many of whom go to the Sit N Bull to drink beer, light up and talk with friends. If her patrons can't light up in the bar, she said they'll just stay at home with a 12-pack.

"In my opinion, I think it's going to hurt the bar owners," she said.

Jim Gresham, owner of Lock Stock & Barrel near Millikin University in Decatur says that a ban is simply unnecessary because smokers have become more considerate of their nonsmoking colleagues.

"The situation has really taken care of itself," he said. "We haven't put ashtrays on the tables in years."

Gresham's sports bar faces a proposed Macon County ban in addition to the statewide measure. He'd like to avoid both, but suggests that the full Illinois option might the best way to avoid giving up customers to places like Sit N Bull.

"All things considered, let's keep the playing field equal," he said.

The legislation is House Bill 246.