Past campaigns for broad no-smoking ordinances in unincorporated Elkhart County and the city of Elkhart burned out before ever really catching on.
Could the chatter in St. Joseph County reignite similar talks among Elkhart County officials?
Probably not, say some elected officials.
"I don't think it's the county's part to tell a restaurant, 'You can't let anyone smoke in here,'" Commissioner Terry Rodino said Thursday. "We've had some discussions among the commissioners, and we feel it's not in our purview. It's kind of infringing on people's rights, we feel."
In the past, local government officials have said a ban could hurt businesses, particularly if neighboring cities and counties haven't adopted the policy as well. Instead, most officials here have favored letting individual business owners choose whether to let their patrons smoke.
For the moment, that's Commissioner Mike Yoder's preference.
"There's no real reason to initiate a policy change at this point, and I don't think any of the commissioners will initiate that," Yoder said.
Rodino and Yoder said Elkhart County officials likely would stick to that view -- even if St. Joseph County goes smoke-free. If anything, Yoder said, passage of the St. Joe ordinance would probably encourage more Elkhart County businesses to ban smoking.
In 2004, former Elkhart County Commissioner Martin McCloskey pushed for a no-smoking ordinance before he left office, but it never materialized. The same year, a local activist urged the Elkhart City Council to take up the cause -- an effort that failed to gather steam.
Elkhart County cities, though, have nipped smoking in some public places.
In Elkhart, it's banned inside all municipal properties, including vehicles and park pavilions.
Goshen also prohibits smoking in its government buildings, except inside the police department interview room.
Nappanee bans lighting up in all city-owned buildings.