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RALEIGH — A proposal to ban smoking in restaurants, offices and virtually any other workplace promises to be the focus of a bruising battle between health advocates, tobacco companies and allies with either side.

Similar bills have been introduced in each of the past two legislative sessions and one fell short of passing the House by only a few votes in 2007. This year, backers say, the legislative ground may have shifted enough to push the measure to passage.

“We know we’ll have a spirited debate on this bill,” said Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Davidson County Democrat and majority leader in the House. “We’ll work very, very hard with our members trying to gain additional support, especially among new members.”

The House has 16 new members.

In addition to banning smoking in all but a few workplaces, Holliman’s bill would also end a prohibition that keeps cities and counties from passing their own smoking regulations.

In the 20th century, most any bill seen as potentially harmful to the state’s tobacco industry was almost doomed from the start. Powerful coalitions of tobacco

farmers, cigarette companies and smokers kept anything approaching a ban at bay.

It was only in 2003 that the House banished smoking from its chambers.

Prohibitions on smoking in state vehicles and other state buildings have been even more recent.

These days not only does a workplace smoking ban have a fighting chance at passing, but legislators are openly talking about raising the state’s tobacco tax.

Tobacco’s influence has diminished in part because farmers rely less on the crop after the federal tobacco quota buyout. And massive legal settlements have clipped the reach of tobacco manufacturers.

Rather than dividing the House along party lines, smoking ban legislation tends to split lawmakers based on a mix of personal experience, philosophical leanings and hometown interests.

Holliman, for example, has twice survived bouts with lung cancer and lost a sister to the disease. Other legislators with similar stories have rallied to his cause.

With cigarette makers Lorillard in Greensboro and RJ Reynolds in Winston-Salem, the Triad could provide a ready supply of legislative opponents.

“It’s pure economics,” said Rep. Earl Jones, a Greensboro Democrat who voted against the smoking ban in 2007.

“A large number of people who work with Lorillard live in my district. ...People need to make a living and I don’t want to do anything that leads to people losing their jobs.”

Michael Shannon, a lobbyist for Lorillard, said such a ban would not only hurt cigarette companies but that bars and restaurants could be hurt as well.

“This bill fails to recognize and accommodate those restaurant and bar and nightclub owners who want to continue serving their clientele,” Shannon said. “This bill provides no accommodation. ...It’s basically a blanket ban.”

Lorillard and other tobacco companies are already bracing to battle the bill. They may be joined by other businesses that think a ban would hurt their bottom line, particularly as the economy continues to struggle.

On the other side are health advocates, county health directors and North Carolina’s state health director who point to studies that show even very small levels of second-hand smoke can trigger health problems.

And, they argue, curbing smoking will save the state money by reducing health care costs paid by the employee health plan, Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded programs.

“The health concerns far outweigh the concerns of any impact on economics at this point...,” Holliman said. “I don’t think because we pass this bill people are all going to quite smoking. I don’t think Lorillard and RJ Reynolds will go out of business because of this bill.”

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com