The effort to ban smoking in indoor public places in Charleston has sparked a reaction in Columbia, as state Rep. John Graham Altman III has filed a bill that would prohibit municipalities from banning smoking in bars and many restaurants.

Altman, R-Charleston, said Tuesday that if bars and restaurants want to ban smoking, that's fine, but government shouldn't force them to do so.

"This is an issue of government becoming more and more socialistic and telling the owners and operators of private property what they can and can't do," he said.

The bill would not allow municipalities to ban smoking in businesses with valid alcohol permits. If a city did that anyway, it could lose various state funds.

Graham said customers can decide whether they want to go to a place where smoking is allowed. Employees, too, have the option of working elsewhere, he said.

"I think we ought to trust the marketplace to work," he said.

Paul Tinkler, a Charleston city councilman who is pushing for the ban, took a dim view of Altman's bill.

"I think it's boneheaded," he said. "Would John Graham also propose that we let drivers decide how fast they can drive, or contractors decide whether they are going to comply with the building code?"

Tinkler said it would be a different matter if smoke merely was an irritant. An increasing amount of evidence exists that secondhand smoke is harmful, he said.

He said it's easy to say employees who dislike smoke can just find another job, but it's not necessarily that easy in reality, particularly in a sluggish economy.

Tinkler also said the bill would step on the rights of local governments to set policy.

Charleston City Council seems Charleston City Council seems likely to adopt the smoking ban, as a majority of council members expressed support during a recent meeting. Council will hold a public hearing on the ban June 17 and could give initial approval that night.

The ban would prohibit smoking in nearly all indoor places apart from homes, some hotel rooms and "smoking bars," which are defined as establishments primarily devoted to serving tobacco products for on-premises consumption.

Altman said his bill likely will not go anywhere during this session, which is about to wrap up. It will be taken up next year, and its chances then seem good, he said.

The bill has some allies. Tom Sponseller, president of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina, said his group supports Altman's effort. Altman also said Charleston might back away from its proposed ban.

"I think that City Council might come to its senses if enough people talk to them," he said.

Tinkler said Altman's bill should factor into council's decision on the ban. If the bill is passed, it could be dealt with then, he said.

Staff writer Brian Hicks contributed to this report.