But Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson called Ray's measure "a bit of a cop-out. It's a better result than what we have now, but for public health and workers' rights, our state Legislature should take a firm position and ban smoking in bars, clubs and mass gatherings."

Anderson said the state "finally" did the right thing when it prohibited smoking in restaurants and public office buildings and "there can be no good reason for them not to do away with the exceptions for clubs and bars."

Lawmakers should also ban the practice at large mass gatherings such as the Utah Arts Festival, Anderson said.

Brown said such legislation interferes with personal choice and is another example of government chipping away at rights.

"I hate cigarette smoke, and I hate drunk people, and I own a bar, but that is the business I chose to go into," he said. "The whole matter boils down to freedom of choice — choice as a business owner, choice as a consumer and choice as an employee."

In Salt Lake County, health officials are considering regulations that would prohibit outdoor smoking at certain venues, such as the Hogle Zoo, playgrounds and the Jordan River Parkway.

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E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com