State House members on Wednesday rejected legislation that would do just that, and give local governments the option to adopt smoking bans in workplaces. The measure failed 55-61.

The unusual defeat on the floor of a measure pushed by a House leader divided lawmakers as much by the level of tobacco's economic impact in their districts as whether they were Republicans or Democrats. For two hours, lawmakers debated the health impact of second-hand smoke versus the private-property rights of business owners.

Supporters argued that the legislation would save lives and cut into an estimated $143 million in direct health care costs in North Carolina caused by second-hand smoke. Rep. Jeff Barnhart, a Concord Republican, spoke of the personal cost; his father-in-law, a nonsmoker, died of lung cancer after being exposed to smoking in the workplace.

"When you talk about freedoms, I think somebody else's freedom ends when it enters my lungs," Barnhart said. "I guess I'm voting in favor of my father-in-law, but I'm also voting for his grandchildren who he didn't get to know."

Opponents said the legislation intruded upon the rights of business owners and made them bear the brunt of punishment if someone smoked on their premises. They also said the legislation gave too much authority to local governments to pass smoking bans.

"I believe upholding private property rights is simply more important to the fabric of our society than the effects of second-hand smoke," said Rep. Ric Killian, a Charlotte Republican.

This marks the second time in three years that Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat, has failed in efforts to enact a smoking ban in restaurants. Holliman is a lung cancer survivor who learned he had the disease after his sister was diagnosed with it in 1998. She died not long after. Holliman has said his sister never smoked and that he had smoked a little, but their parents were heavy smokers.

Holliman, who became House majority leader this year, had pulled the bill from the House floor several times in recent weeks because he was unsure he had the votes for passage. But on Wednesday, Holliman decided to go ahead with the vote.

"I hoped some people would switch and vote for it," he said. "Obviously, some people switched and voted against it."

Holliman's fellow Democrats have a controlling majority in the House, but 16 of them joined with 45 Republicans to vote his legislation down.

Two Democrats who voted against the bill were Rep. Beverly Earle, a Charlotte Democrat who has often championed public health care interests, and Rep. Mary McAllister, a Fayetteville Democrat who runs a nonprofit group that helps people with sickle cell anemia. Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat who quit smoking two years ago, also voted against the bill.

Eight Republicans supported the legislation, including Rep. Nelson Dollar of Cary.

"In my district, there's a great deal of concern about second-hand smoke, particularly in restaurants," Dollar said.

Dollar said he was concerned about personal property rights, but said that Holliman addressed those concerns when he dropped from his legislation a statewide ban on smoking in the workplace. The bill would have exempted private clubs from the ban and allowed smoking rooms in some hotels.

Several states have passed smoking bans, including California, New York and Florida. But Holliman was facing a formidable challenge in North Carolina, which is the nation's leading tobacco producer. At least two Democrats said they could not support the legislation because of the harm it would cause to the industry.

"To me, it's just a bread-and-butter issue for my constituents," said Rep. Earl Jones, a Greensboro Democrat whose district has its share of Lorillard Tobacco Company employees.

Holliman said he hasn't given up on passing a smoking ban this session. Sen. Janet Cowell, a Raleigh Democrat, filed a similar bill this session. But it has yet to get out of committee.