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Uniform smoking rules unlikely for Evansville, Vanderburgh County 

With the adoption of separate city and county ordinances banning smoking in most public places, the controversy seemed to be over.

But zero hour — Jan. 2, 2009 — is approaching.

That's the date the principal difference between the two ordinances will leap off the pages of code books and literally into the air around us.

That's when exemptions for bars, taverns and clubs in the county will expire, and all businesses in the county's jurisdiction will become smoke-free. But in the city, similar exemptions for restaurants, bars and taverns will continue.

"I knew this was coming," said City Councilman H. Dan Adams, a retired cardiac heart surgeon who was elected at large last year after speaking out for a tough smoking ban. "Maybe the city needs to go the way of the county. If there is a discussion in the City Council, I'll be frank about how I feel."

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