SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – While some states and even entire countries have severely restricted smoking, most Illinois cities are barred by state law from regulating tobacco use.

Only 21 Illinois cities are currently allowed to set their own smoking rules. Health advocates want lawmakers to extend that right to all 1,200 cities, towns and villages in the state, a plan opposed by business groups who say smoking rules should be set by individual establishments rather than the government.

When Illinois adopted statewide restrictions on smoking in public places in 1989, it barred cities from taking any action of their own, such as extending those regulations to restaurants and bars. The only exceptions were a handful of cities that had already adopted smoking ordinances.

The American Lung Association has been fighting ever since for a law that would let all cities regulate smoking.

“It does not require anyone anywhere to go smoke-free. It only allows the option for a community to add this if they want to,” said Kathy Drea, director of public policy for the association’s Illinois and Iowa division. She argues that second-hand smoke is not only a nuisance for customers but harmful to workers in businesses that allow smoking.

The measure failed in the House last year by a single vote, but it has been re-introduced. An identical bill is also making its way through the Senate, the first time that chamber has considered the issue.

Groups representing restaurants and bars oppose the bill.

“This is too much government,” said Colleen McShane, president of the Illinois Restaurants Association. “The restaurants are restricting themselves already.”

Owners could lose money if their customers aren’t allowed to smoke and decide to go to neighboring communities without smoking bans, and employees at businesses that allow smoking have the option of choosing to work other jobs, she said.

Drea dismissed the possibility of businesses losing money, saying the ban could actually bring in more customers who previously avoided the smoky settings.

Mark Kinnaman, who was smoking after lunch Tuesday at Sammy’s Sports Bar and Grill in Springfield, said he could accept smoking restrictions in most public places, but he thought outlawing cigarettes in bars would be a mistake.

“Even a lot of non-smokers smoke at bars when they drink,” he said.

Mayor Chris Koos of Normal, a city that is not allowed to set its own smoking policies, said lawmakers should give local governments the authority to regulate smoking.

“The more legislation can reflect the opinion of local citizens, the better,” Koos said.

Even if the legislation becomes law, the fight between anti-smoking factions and businesses will likely continue at the local level.

Earlier this month a measure to ban indoor smoking in Oak Park, which is allowed to pass its own indoor air laws, failed in a 2-5 vote. So far, only three communities – Wilmette, Skokie and Evanston – have passed additional restrictions, although efforts continue in the other exempted cities.