As it turns out, separate smoking sections are no solution. There is no risk-free exposure to someone else's drifting smoke, according to a long-awaited U.S. surgeon general's report.

Exposure to secondhand, or "involuntary smoking," as U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona calls it, markedly increases nonsmokers' risk of death from lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. Utah is one of about 14 states that ban smoking in most public places, although it will be permitted in private clubs until Jan. 1, 2009.

In light of this new report, the Utah Legislature should move up that deadline. Utah should be at the forefront of protecting people from secondhand smoke, particularly as more is known about its risks. Some 3,000 Americans die of lung cancer each year despite never having smoked, according to government reports. An estimated 35,000 Americans who never smoked die of heart disease caused by the cigarettes of others.

Some private club owners have instituted their own bans out of concerns for employees who are exposed to secondhand smoke, which is laudable because the health risks are substantial. It is estimated that a bartender inhales enough smoke on a typical shift to equal up to two packs of cigarettes. Workers should not have to accept that degree of risk. Not all private club patrons are smokers. They, too, deserve protection.

The surgeon general's report, which is a compilation of the best research on secondhand smoke, is irrefutable. As Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids told the Associated Press, the report "eliminates any excuse from any state or city for taking halfway measures to restrict smoking, or permitting smoking in any indoor workplace."

Utah lawmakers should institute a legislative prohibition on smoking in private clubs as soon as possible. Other than to placate tobacco interests and foot-dragging private club owners, there is no rational excuse to wait until January 2009 to institute a ban.