CHICAGO - After six years of matrimony, Deborah Sullivan has reached her limit. Either the cigarettes go, or she does. "It's tested our love. It's tested our marriage," said Sullivan, 59, of Hammond, Ind.

Sullivan's husband has suffered major health problems, and she puts part of the blame on the ease with which he can smoke at a local restaurant, where friends are always ready to split a pack.

That's why Sullivan supports the Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air, which is attempting to ignite a movement in one of the last Midwestern states without an outright ban on smoking in the workplace. Illinois went smoke-free on Jan. 1, 2008.

But it could be a difficult feat in the Hoosier State, which has the sixth-highest adult smoking rate in the country. The last time a smoking-ban bill was introduced, the measure did not even make it out of a legislative committee; the chairman cut off testimony of a man whose wife had died of cancer from second-hand smoke. And powerful interest groups representing bars, restaurants and casinos are expected to stand in opposition.

Yet smoke-free proponents remain undeterred.

"I think we do have some movement," said Danielle Patterson, senior advocacy director in Indiana for the American Heart Association. "We have a lot of work to do. (But) we have a little change in the air."

If true, the mood reflects a health trend blowing across the country. Thirty states now have some sort of smoke-free provision on their books, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation. Illinois smokers who go to Indiana or Wisconsin - another Midwestern holdout - could find their sanctuaries go up in smoke if clean-air advocates get their way. "Prospects have never been better," said Luke Rollins, Advocacy Director for the American Heart Association in Wisconsin.

That would be disappointing to Kevin Langland, 48, of Chicago. The high school teacher goes out of his way to eat his meals in Indiana where he knows he can enjoy his cigarettes along with the cuisine.

"I will sit and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner there because it's convenient and because I can smoke," said Langland, who also works on muscle cars while in Indiana. "It boils down to what I can do to accommodate my lifestyle, and since I smoke and since it's so close, that's where we go."

Currently, there are varying smoking bans across the state in different cities, counties and towns. Indiana state Rep. Charlie Brown, a Democrat, intends to introduce a bill that would ban smoking in almost all enclosed public places, including bars, restaurants and casinos. If he succeeds, Indiana would join 15 other states, including Illinois, that enforce a completely smoke-free environment in almost work places.

But because banning smoking in the hospitality sector is a high hurdle, proponents are starting from the ground up. On a recent Wednesday night, about 70 people gathered in a basement conference room at the Lake County Public Library in Merrillville. It was the fourth town hall meeting organized by the Campaign for Smokefree Air, which includes 34 statewide coalitions.

"(I'm here) largely because of the rights of workers," said Karen Freeman-Wilson, 48, of Gary. "Banning smoking in public places is not going to impact your good time."

Critics say that prohibiting smoking in private enterprises infringes on individual rights.

"We agree that smoking is bad," said Brad Klopfenstein, executive director of the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association. "But smokers are a segment of the economy, and businesses should have the right to cater to a segment of the population that enjoys legal products."

During a busy lunch hour at the Hessville Family Restaurant in Hammond, patrons enjoying leisurely drags from their cigarettes heartily agreed.

"I think it's a violation of my constitutional rights and the owners' rights," said 65-year-old Bobby Heflin, who started smoking when he was 9. "Too much government interfering, that's why we've got the problems we've got today."

Chuck D'Ambrosia, 71, waved his pack of Marlboro Reds and declared, "This is my personal pursuit of happiness."

But Leslie Rosenski, 24, said she could envision a compromise.

"Restaurants, I can see, because there are people who are on oxygen or who just don't like being around smoke," she said, waving away at the white plume that trailed from her cigarette. "A lot of people don't like being around it, and I respect that. But I think bars should be left alone."

Sullivan, whose 60-year-old husband suffered two heart attacks last year and is now on oxygen, said she stays out of places filled with smoke. In between looking for jobs and caring for her husband, she's sharing her story with others about why Indiana should be entirely smoke free.

But there are days when she dreams of a new life.

"My whole plan was to go to Florida," she said.

And if her husband lights up again, she said, it still is.

(c) 2009, Chicago Tribune.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.