Katrinka Fullerton finished a cigarette after lunch at Leanne’s Restaurant in Cortland on Wednesday, the day after Gov. Dave Heineman signed into law a statewide smoking ban that will go into effect in June 2009.

Fullerton, 41, said she didn’t much care one way or another that smoking will be banned in bars, restaurants and most other work places. She’ll still eat at Leanne’s.

The three men sitting with her had different opinions.

“In the restaurants, it should have been (banned) years ago,” said Fullerton’s husband, Dean, 60. “But it should be left alone in bars.”

John Sieber, 68, thinks smoking should be banned in all public places, and he doesn’t think the ban will affect small-town businesses.

“So many places in small towns, you don’t have a choice where you go,” he said.

Evan Young, 85, wanted to know how the ban will be enforced.

“Non-smokers are going to be watching and call (police),” Katrinka Fullerton replied.

Scott Osander, owner of Leanne’s Restaurant, said he’s not too worried about the ban affecting his business.

For one thing, fewer than 10 percent of his customers are smokers.

“I can’t imagine people not going out to eat,” he said. “Most (smokers) are fairly considerate anyway.”

Even though supporters say a statewide ban levels the playing field among businesses, Osander said he still opposed the idea.

“There is a (public) health factor in everything from car exhaust to food additives,” he said. “I just don’t like the government interfering.”

Osander also worries about the enforcement issue.

“I don’t want to get forced into a situation where I have to get confrontational with one of my customers or I get fined,” he said.

About 14 miles north, a Hickman bar owner also wondered about enforcement.

The issue has been the butt of some jokes, said Sadie’s Place owner Mike Harral.

“I don’t know if (police) are going to drive around Lancaster County and look for the smoking butt instead of the smoking gun,” he said.

When the time comes, Harral said, he’ll be compelled to enforce the law, just the same as if a minor tried to drink or smoke in the bar.

“As a business owner and a citizen, I have to follow the laws, even if I don’t agree with them.”

Mark Rakowsky, owner of Whiskey River Saloon in Madison, said he already gives his customers a choice. One half of his business, in a separate building next door, is non-smoking.

“I don’t smoke but I think you should have the right to decide,” Rakowsky said.

One of Rakowsky’s customers, Stan Ponek, 57, said the public health argument wasn’t reasonable. “If this is a health issue, why doesn’t the United States ban smoking altogether? They want your tax dollars, but they want to tell you what to do.”

Josh Hicks, 28, took out a cigarette as he waited at the small bar in Sadie’s Place. He said he’s seen business rise in such towns as Hickman and Denton since Lincoln enacted its smoking ban in 2005.

If banning smoking in bars was profitable, Hicks said, “there’d be a lot more non-smoking establishments. I think it’s going to close down all these small town bars.”

Harry Swallow, 66, who was at Whiskey River in Madison agreed. “I think it’s going to break a lot of bars. I probably won’t come down here any more and I’m here every day,” he said.

“I don’t think it will hurt the big places, but the small towns, drawing on a small amount of people, what are they going to do?”

Charles Johnston, 54, doesn’t think the smoking ban will hurt businesses, but said it will be a pain in the winter.

“I do know that cigarettes are bad for you, and if I could quit today, I would,” Johnston said. “But I don’t think anyone should tell me I have to.

“If you’re not going to give me a place to do it, make it illegal.”

Johnston said he, too, isn’t sure how well the ban will be enforced.

“Farm towns are going to say, ‘Piss on you, Mr. Governor,’” he said.

While many of the customers at Sadie’s Place are smokers, Harral is optimistic the ban will bring in some new people, he said.

“We’ve had some complaints, people saying, ‘I’d come in here if it wasn’t so smoky,’” he said. “But it’s a guarded optimism at best.”

Reach Hilary Kindschuh at 473-7120 or hkindschuh@journalstar.com. Reporter Kendra Waltke contributed to this story.