Outnumbered by doctors, healthcare advocates, former smokers and medical students, Robert Gehrmann ignited a heated tirade against the proposed countywide workplace smoking ban that would include bars and restaurants.

At a public hearing last night in front of Allegheny County Council, Mr. Gehrmann, of Crafton, was one of a handful of people against the bill who also sought to dispel notions that second-hand smoke was harmful and that the legislation was infringing on smokers' civil rights.

"This bill is a wicked weed of hate," said a visibly angry Mr. Gehrmann. "Sixteen percent of the county smokes. Is 16 percent a magic number for discrimination?"

While those in support of the bill point to the health benefits and cleaner work environments the ban would institute, smoking advocates and some business owners say the bill encroaches on their personal liberties and unnecessarily targets small-business owners.

The bill will go back to the council's Health and Human Services Committee, where it may be amended. Council members will then likely vote on the legislation at a regularly scheduled council meeting Sept. 26.

The majority of the more than 40 people who addressed council last night spoke in support of the bill, citing personal experiences of loved ones stricken by lung cancer, asthma or bronchitis and patients they have seen slip away due to increased exposure to smoke.

"Smoking is a public health threat, but not just to those who smoke," said Donald Fischer, the chief medical officer at Highmark. "The time to act is now."

He was supported by a number of healthcare professionals who quoted verbatim reports from the U.S. surgeon general's office and numerous statistics indicating the increased risk children and those exposed to second-hand smoke face later in life.

"There is no question that the toxins from tobacco smoke, including second-hand smoke, present a very serious medical problem," said Dr. Terence W. Starz, of the Allegheny County Medical Society, which supports the ban. "We need to make a statement in absence of any action in Harrisburg. Let's be the leaders. Let's be the leaders in Western Pennsylvania."

Joy Burkner, who works in a South Side restaurant, told council members to vote for the legislation because she comes home from work reeking of smoke and can't bear to pick up her 2-year-old daughter because of the stench of tobacco.

"It's ludicrous to think I should have to be exposed to so much second-hand smoke," said Mrs. Burkner. "Are you telling me a dollar spent in a restaurant is more important than my health?"

Wendy Betten, owner of a restaurant in the Crafton-Ingram Shopping Center, said 80 percent of her customers smoke and she has spent thousands of dollars on ventilation systems to ease non-smokers' dining experiences. Mrs. Betten said she would lose business if the bill were approved.

"Do I not have some rights as a small-business owner?" she asked.

Mrs. Betten was supported by Bernie Pavlick, who said he enjoys a cigar after dinner.

"You are going to take the freedom away from a business owner to make a decision about their business," said Mr. Pavlick. "It's not our business, it's their business."

Stuart Stickland, of McCandless, said smokers' cries that they are being discriminated against are overblown.

"This is not about smokers. This is about workers," said Mr. Strickland. "Let's get one thing clear, there is not a right to smoke just as there is not a right to punch someone."