Smokers are holding their collective breath to find out what happens next in the saga over the statewide smoking ban. The petition drive calling for a statewide vote has given them extra time to light up past the July 1 deadline.  But with thousands of suspect signatures soon to be reviewed by the Secretary of State, smokers are wondering just how much longer they'll be able to legally puff away inside businesses.

The fate of the statewide smoking ban vote is as much in the air as the smoke that lingers inside Marlin's Roadhouse Grill.

"I guess if they ban it, I'll quit smoking," Chris Bergh said.

A smoking ban would likely affect business at places like Marlin's. 

"They're taking away all our rights, we have no choice, no anything any more," Tim Fisher said.

Fisher feels the Secretary of State's office shouldn't have to be sorting out the signatures being called into question by supporters of the smoking ban.

"I think it's a joke.  When the state stated that the signatures were enough, it should have stayed that way," Fisher said. 

One smoker who signed the petition thinks the signatures will stand up.

"I have not been in one bar that they don't have a petition up to sign to stand up for your rights as a smoker inside an establishment.  So I've known thousands of people who've already signed, so to say they're invalid is unjust," Seth Sour said.

But even some smokers won't be disappointed if the ban prevails.

"Cigarettes are bad.  They always have been; they ain't getting any better. So, I think it will force more people to quit smoking. I don't think it's a bad idea," Bergh said.

For now, the smokers at Marlin's will enjoy a cigarette with their meals, unsure whether the petition drive will ultimately settle this burning question at the polls.

Some smokers think the signature dispute will eventually make its way into the courts. Then, they say, it will become a matter of which side is willing to spend the most money to win.