It’s official: The City Council will vote next week on whether to ban smoking in bars and billiard halls, as well as within 15 feet of the entrances to most workplaces, according to a DMN story. Councilmembers Wednesday spent quite a bit of time going back and forth about the ideas, with some (the News lists Mayor Tom Leppert, Elba Garcia, Angela Hunt and Ron Natinsky) as supporting the ordinance, while others (Tennell Atkins, Sheffie Kadane, Jerry Allen and Vonciel Jones Hill) are against expanding the current smoking ban. We’ve discussed the arguments here a few times, and generally the discussion comes down to health issues vs. civil liberties. Both are legitimate arguments. I don’t spend enough time in bars and billiard halls to have a stake in this argument from a health standpoint, and I definitely understand the concern among people who wonder why the government needs to be involved in this since nonsmokers aren’t being forced to drink and play pool in Dallas. This is one of those times (the other is when I cash my paycheck) that I’m perfectly happy not to be a city council rep…