CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Many bar owners are grumbling about Kanawha County's smoking ban, but at least one embraces the idea.

"I have not noticed any losses [in business]," said Bill Smeedy, who has owned and operated The Cold Spot in North Charleston for 35 years.

"I've noticed an increase in people who don't smoke starting to frequent the place," he said

On Thursday, Smeedy helped members of the Kanawha Coalition for Community Health Improvement celebrate the county's Clean Indoor Air Act by giving away West Virginia Power baseball tickets and putting up stickers for the coalition's Eat, Drink and Breathe Easy campaign.

Coalition director Judy Crabtree said the campaign is designed to encourage nonsmokers to go out to local bars and other establishments.

"Our focus is to build patronage," she said. "Now that we have smoke-free [bars], we need to get the information to our nonsmokers."

She said many nonsmokers who wouldn't go to bars before the ban because of the smoke are now getting out and visiting.

About a dozen coalition members and supporters, including Kanawha-Charleston Health Board President Brenda Isaac, went to The Cold Spot on Thursday to celebrate the bar's smoke-free environment -- but, said Crabtree, they didn't go to fight.

"We're not here to talk about health statistics," she said. "It's a celebration. It's not a preachy, preachy thing tonight."

Smeedy said he smoked for decades before quitting 10 years ago. "I smoked forever," he said. "I smoked five packs a day."

Now he is a strong supporter of clean indoor air. A sign posted in the front window of The Cold Spot reads "Montani Semper Tobacco Liberi," which he translates as "Mountaineers are always tobacco-free."

Like many Cold Spot customers, Shawn Smith stepped outside the bar into an azure blue-skied afternoon on Thursday to light up.

"I have mixed feelings about it," Smith said of the county's ban on cigarette smoking. He understands the reasoning behind the ban, he said, but believes it should be up to bar owners whether to allow patrons to smoke or not.

Patrons Thursday evening were generally supportive of Smeedy and his nonsmoking attitude. He has encouraged some of his customers to quit or cut down.

Smeedy believes the smoking ban is good for smokers as well as nonsmokers.

"Some people have quit smoking because of it," he said, "and the rest of them have slowed down a lot."