State officials heard testimony Tuesday from restaurant and bar owners during a discussion in the Capitol of a statewide ban on smoking.

The ban, which was proposed by Democrats in the Michigan House of Representatives, would alter the standing law allowing restaurants and taverns to select whether or not they want to allow smoking in their facilities.

The proposed ban would be an unnecessary interference, said Andy Deloney, director of government affairs for the Michigan Restaurant Association, or MRA.

"We don't need the government stepping in to tell us what's best for business," Deloney said. "We're the one's whose livelihoods are on the line."

Since 1998, Deloney said the number of smoke-free environments increased by 97 percent. If smoke-free is what consumers want, restaurants will provide it on their own, he said. The choice should be in the hands of the restaurant owners, he said.

"It's their business, their livelihoods on the line if they don't make the right decision," he said. "We can trust them to make the kind of decisions their customers want."

Choice is exactly what Michigan citizens don't have, said Curtis Hertel Jr., legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Some of those exposed to secondhand smoke, like workers, don't have much choice about working in nonsmoking places, and in tough economic times, can't afford to make such distinctions, Hertel said.

"It's those people we're really most concerned about," he said.

The proposed ban could have beneficial effects, Hertel said.

"We're doing everything we can to prevent second-hand smoke," he said. "We need to encourage as many people to quit as possible."

Some people, such as Sarah Fortino, a bartender at Dublin Square, 327 Abbott Road, said the ban could be bad for business.

"Just seeing the business here on our slow nights, like tonight, most people will go in the smoking section," the English and psychology senior said. "It goes hand-in-hand with alcohol for a lot of people."

Others, like Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub, 131 Abbott Road., bartender Christopher Steele said he didn't think it would affect business.

"I know some people would be upset, but I think a lot more people would actually like it," Steele said. "I'm a smoker myself and I would probably like it. The smoke gets to be too much in here sometimes."