On Sunday evening, the patio of Espresso Royale Caffé, 527 E. Grand River Ave., was filled with people leaning over books and papers and inhaling smoke from their cigarettes.

But at The Ohio State University, students and local residents soon will be required to put out cigarettes before entering any bar, restaurant or public establishment.

On Nov. 2, Columbus voters passed a citywide ordinance forbidding indoor smoking in public places. It will take effect Jan. 30.

"It's very much split," said Deb Mason, vice president of Ohio State's Undergraduate Student Government. "There were a decent number of students who were supporting it, then there were students who really didn't like it because they were smokers or because they felt it was taking away people's rights."

Ohio State is the largest of the 11 Big Ten universities with about 58,000 students.

Passing a smoking ban in any Michigan city would be more difficult than in Columbus, but the demand is there, said Mikelle Robinson, the tobacco section manager for the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Robinson said more than 3,500 restaurants in Michigan have chosen to be completely nonsmoking on their own and there are annual efforts in the state Legislature to ban indoor smoking statewide.

"A lot of smokers would support it because if you go out to eat, you're only there for an hour or so," she said.

State law in Michigan was changed in 1993, taking away cities' right to limit smoking in bars and restaurants. Cities and counties can choose to limit smoking in all buildings besides bars and restaurants, and several, including Ingham County, Washtenaw County and the city of Marquette have done so, Robinson said.

"It can take years. It's very political," she said. "You really have to start with education and why people shouldn't be exposed to second-hand smoke."

But public opinion in Michigan does not support the government forcing restaurants to go smoke-free, said Andy Deloney, director of public affairs for the Michigan Restaurant Association.

In February, the association commissioned a report from Lansing-based polling firm EPIC/MRA and found that about 77 percent of Michigan voters felt that restaurant owners should have the right to decide what is best when it comes to smoking, Deloney said.

"This is about giving the restaurant owner the right to decide how they want to manage their own property - making sure the owner has the ability to provide the dining experience they and their customers want," he said.

Linda Paoletti, owner of Larry's Bar in Columbus near Ohio State, said it is a personal choice for employees and patrons to enter the establishment and the city should not force businesses to forbid smoking.

"The bar-going people or the people who are going to be affected do not support the new rules," she said.

In Toledo, the city's smoking ban was amended to allow some establishments to allow smoking if they are not focused on selling food, such as at a bar or bowling alley.

The Columbus ban took years to put in place and a lot of community education, said Dr. Rob Crane, a physician in Columbus and an assistant professor at Ohio State. Crane was co-chairman for the group Smokefree Columbus Coalition, which worked to inform Columbus residents about the health hazards of second-hand smoke.

In Ohio, laws allow individual cities to decide how they will regulate smoking.

"If you were to walk into a smoky bar, in 20 minutes the large vessels in the heart stiffen up," Crane said. "Within two hours your heart and circulatory system begin to resemble that of a chronic smoker."

Cosi, 301 E. Grand River Ave., is listed through the group SmokeFree Michigan as a nonsmoking restaurant. The decision was made companywide about a year ago, said supervisor Kristen MacKool.

"Nobody really asks, it's not that kind of atmosphere," she said "A lot of times we have a younger crowd and they wouldn't want to deal with it.

"It can interfere with a lot of people's dinners."

But Ryan Kosecki, a manager at The Riv, 231 M.A.C. Ave., said he thought banning smoking would hurt business at his bar.

"A lot of people that drink also smoke," he said. "You want everyone to be healthy, but you want people to be able to do what they want to do.

"You know what you're getting into when you go to the bar."

Columbus,Ohio, recently passed a citywide indoor smoking ban in an attempt to provide cleaner air for patrons. Michigan law prohibits individual city governments from passing similar laws, but state officials said there is an interest in statewide smoking bans.