The city seemed ready to enact a sweeping ban last year but backed off at the last minute. Instead, Charleston City Council decided to form a commission to study the matter, effectively putting the issue on the back burner until after the November elections.

Now talk of a ban is back.

After more than six months, the makeup of the commission is being finalized, and the group is set to begin meeting this month, said Lawrence O. Thompson, executive assistant to the mayor.

The issue faded somewhat from the spotlight, but even smokers figured it was not going to disappear. "Things here in Charleston seem to go away and always resurface at some point," said Dustin Senf, dragging on a cigarette in a West Ashley bar. "Somebody's always going to bring it back up."

City leaders who support a ban might take some heart from the election results.

Voters sent the message that backing a smoking ban apparently is not a touch-it-and-die issue. All six council incumbents running for re-election won, including those who had pushed most strongly for a ban.

During the campaign, some challengers made the smoking ban an issue, saying it represented government intrusion. That did not seem to affect the fortunes of ban supporters such as Councilman Paul Tinkler, who took more than three-fourths of the vote in his West Ashley district.

"Seventy-seven percent is a pretty good vote of confidence," he said. "I would infer from that that most people think it's a good idea, but who knows?"

The strict ban proposed last year generated plenty of support and opposition.

The issue reached a peak in June, when a crowd packed the Dock Street Theatre for a public hearing. Dozens of speakers weighed in on both sides of the issue.

Several medical professionals spoke in support, while representatives of the hospitality industry spoke against the ban.

Those who favor a ban point to evidence that secondhand smoke is dangerous and say nonsmokers have a right not to breathe smoke.

Foes say it represents government intrusion. They say businesses should have the right to choose whether or not to allow smoking, just as customers can decide if they want to go to a place where smoking is allowed.

The city's commission will include representatives from different sides of the issue, from restaurant owners to health organizations, said Thompson.

"What we've been trying to do ... is to make that as fair and balanced as you can," he said.

It remains to be seen whether the issue will regain the momentum it had several months ago. A 1999 effort to enact a ban petered out after a committee recommended banning smoking in all public areas.

Despite the delay, ban supporters say they believe the issue is very much alive.

"I don't think the committee is a dead end," said Councilman Henry Fishburne, who pushed for the ban last year and who also was re-elected easily. "I think that what will come out of it is some reasonable regulations for smoking in public places and some reasonable exceptions."

The ban as proposed last year would have eliminated smoking virtually everywhere indoors except for private residences. Some say a compromise measure might wind up as the final result, however.

City Councilwoman Anne Frances Bleecker, who proposed the creation of the commission, said that the ban being considered earlier would have been one of the most restrictive in the country. The issue merited more thought, she said.

"You can't ... just slam down an ordinance," she said. "You have to take a very serious look at it."

A potential compromise could take a variety of forms. While hundreds of cities across the country have enacted some form of smoking restrictions, not all bans are created alike.

Some allow smoking in bars but not in restaurants, while others allow it in restaurants and bars but not in other workplaces. Some include time restrictions that allow smoking in bars or restaurants at night. Some call for physically separate smoking areas and improved ventilation equipment.

Ban opponents say they believe the commission seems to be organized fairly.

Kerry Gionis of the Charleston Restaurant Association said that the commission will include representatives from his group.

"I don't think there's going to be any preordained conclusion," he said. "I think it's being set up in good faith."

Once back on the scene, the issue will linger for a while. Thompson said the group will undertake a "pretty comprehensive study" of the issue that will take at least several months.

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