Bar owner's lawsuit challenges St. Louis smoking ban

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis bar owner wants a judge to block the city's smoking ban, just days before exemptions to the law are to expire.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the "Smoke Free Air Act" took effect in 2011 with five-year exemptions for taverns that met certain requirements.

But those exemptions will expire Jan. 1.

As owner of the Trophy Room, Herbert Krischke last week filed a lawsuit asking a St. Louis circuit judge to block the city from enforcing the ordinance or declare it unconstitutional.

The lawsuit argues the law "grants a special or exclusive right, privilege or immunity" to the deep-pocketed casinos such as the city's Lumiere Place. That casino gets to keep its exemption.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com