Advocates of a proposal in Gov. Jim Doyle's budget that would ban smoking in restaurants and bars statewide have allied in its support.
The Holding Our Breath for Smoke-Free Air campaign, which was launched Wednesday, is comprised of 27 statewide organizations that support the ban.
Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of Smoke Free Wisconsin, said the health benefits of the ban are enormous. She said multiple studies have shown that heart-attack rates have fallen 20 percent in communities that have banned smoking in restaurants and bars.
The campaign's website, holdingourbreathwi.com, includes a petition and video testimonials, as well as links to studies showing the positive health and economic impacts of smoking bans.
State Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, said he believes the smoking ban, as a policy that does not directly relate to fiscal matters, should not be included in the governor's budget.
""The public should be given ample opportunity to debate the issues and then let them go to votes in the committee and on the floor and let them stand by their own merits … It shouldn't be done through the budget bill,"" he said.
State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, who has long been an advocate for a statewide smoking ban, said he thinks the measure is a budget issue as well as a policy issue.
""Some people argue it is policy, I say it saves the state 2 billion dollars per year in health-care costs,"" he said.
The Tavern League of Wisconsin is against the proposal because it says it would have a detrimental effect on the league's members.
""We know that businesses will be forced to close and people will lose jobs,"" league spokesperson Pete Madland said.
The City of Madison enacted an indoor smoking ban in 2005, and Dane County passed a similar ban in 2008.
Jessica Burda, a spokesperson for the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, said a statewide ban makes more sense for Madison-area businesses than bans in individual municipalities because it puts all the state's restaurants and bars on the same competitive level.
