DENVER -- Those who like to smoke in Denver restaurants and bars can keep doing so, for now.

By a 7-5 margin, city council members Monday night rejected the smoking ban proposal, which would have restricted smoking in Denver restaurants and some bars. And for the second time, the council also rejected a bid to hold a public hearing on the matter, saying that it was not likely they would hear anything that would change their minds.

"It's hard for me to believe that I will hear a new fact that I have not already heard," Councilwoman Polly Flobeck said before voting against both a public hearing and the smoking ban.

Council members also said they had too much other business to finish before a new council takes over in three weeks. Ten of the 13 council members will leave office on July 21.

Supporters said they'll approach the new council with the same kind of measure, perhaps later this year.

"We'll be back," said Patrick Nash, a member of Smoke-Free Denver and cancer survivor who smoked for 40 years. "We won't go away until something is done about this because there definitely is a health issue. If we have to go before the people with a vote, if that's what it takes, then I'm sure we'll do that."

Outgoing Mayor Wellington Webb supported the proposal but Denver Mayor-Elect John Hickenlooper said he supports a smoking ban only if it's statewide or covers the entire metro area. He said businesses that border suburbs could be hurt if patrons go to neighboring cities because they don't have a smoking ban.

Many communities have already gone smoke-free including Alamosa, Louisville, Snowmass Village, Pueblo and Fort Collins. Aspen, Boulder, Montrose, Superior and Telluride also have some form of a smoking restriction.