DES MOINES - Iowa's smoking ban unconstitutionally burdens business owners and has forced some Iowa bars out of business, said plaintiffs seeking a temporary halt to the ban during a hearing in Polk County District Court Friday.

Brian Froehlich, president of the Iowa Bar Owners Coalition and a plaintiff, testified that the month-old ban has already slashed sales in bars across the state by 25 to 30 percent and as much as 50 percent for some establishments.

George Eichhorn, attorney for the plaintiffs, said the ban burdens business owners with the responsibility of posting "no smoking" signs and making sure customers and employees understand the law.

Eichhorn said that level of government regulation blurs the line between public and private property.

He argued the law can subject business owners to illegal search and seizure because it doesn't adequately spell out how businesses suspected of violating the ban are to be inspected.

"Until that structure is in place, this statute is unconstitutional," he said.

The plaintiffs are seeking a suspension on the enforcement of the ban until the court can rule on their suit that claims the law is unconstitutional.

District Court Judge Douglas Staskal didn't immediately rule on the injunction but said he would hand down a decision as soon as possible without specifying when that might be.

Iowa Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Thompson, representing the state, called the plaintiffs' case largely anecdotal and pointed to scholarly studies that indicate similar smoking bans in other states haven't hurt business for bars.

He argued that granting a temporary suspension would take a step backward after the ban had already been enacted.

The smoking ban took effect July 1, the same day the plaintiffs filed their petition in Polk County District Court.

In order for the court to grant the injunction, the plaintiffs must prove they would likely win a case testing the constitutionality of the ban and show that they had incurred irreparable harm during the time the ban was in effect.

Thompson said the plaintiffs didn't meet that burden of proof and said a temporary injunction of a law that had already been in effect for a month would be "an extraordinary remedy."

The smoking ban, signed into law April 15, outlaws smoking in most public places, including bars and restaurants, but the law contains some exceptions like the gaming floors of casinos.

The plaintiffs said they hit all the notes they wanted to during a press conference following the hearing.

Joe Sturgis, owner of the Rusty Nail in Davenport, told reporters he thinks the vast majority of Iowa bar owners aren't adhering to the ban.

"I'd say 80 percent of them are still allowing people to smoke in their bars because if they don't, they won't have anybody in there," Sturgis said.

Susan Schmidt, a bartender from Cornell, brought a sign to the hearing that read, "Where there's smoke, there's a voter and a taxpayer."

Schmidt stood with a small group near the foot of the courthouse stairs smoking a cigarette after the hearing.

She said she thinks the government overstepped its authority by outlawing smoking in bars or any private business.

"I think what they're doing is very unconstitutional," she said.

Fred Love can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or fred.love@lee.net.