DENVER -- Many bars and restaurants in Colorado will be closing down their smoking sections for the last time Friday night.

Colorado's new smoking ban takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning. The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Cct applies to all restaurants, taverns, and most businesses. It's part of 81 laws going into effect on July 1.

The ban, approved by the Legislature earlier this year, prohibits smoking in most indoor places throughout the state. Smoking areas at restaurants and bars must be at least 15 feet away from the entrance. The only exceptions to the ban are tobacco stores, cigar bars, the smoking lounge at Denver International Airport, private workplaces with fewer than four employees and those are not accessible to the public, and casinos.

Many establishments will be using patios and decks for people who still want to light up. However, some bar owners say they may not have the money or the patience to build new outdoor patios to accommodate smokers and adapt to the ban.

But other restaurants see an opportunity to attract nonsmokers with fresh air.

"I think there will be stories on both sides of this," said Pete Meersman, president of the Colorado Restaurant Association. "I think it will help some and hurt others."

In Pueblo, Don Gray said alcohol sales dropped 30 percent at his Coors Tavern after the city adopted its own smoking ban. But he's compensated by increasing food sales and building an outdoor patio.

Colorado is the 13th state in the country to have a smoking ban. States with similar laws include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington.

A coalition of about 500 owners of bars, bowling alleys, liquor stores and other businesses tried to stop the ban before it took effect. They sued the state this month, alleging the law violates their constitutional rights because it doesn't apply to other businesses, such as casinos and cigar bars.

A judge denied their request for a temporary restraining order last week, though the lawsuit can proceed.

Smoking ban advocates have pointed to studies that found either no change or growth in the restaurant and bar industry after indoor smoking was banned in places such as California, Delaware and New York.

U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona cited similar statistics in a report released this week that warned of the dangers of secondhand smoke and urged all consumers to visit smoke-free businesses.

Blackened Lungs Give Smokers More Reason To Quit

Between the ban and the smoker's lung display at the Body Worlds Two exhibit at the Museum of Nature and Science, many smokers have decided this is the best time to quit.

At the museum, visitors seeing a blackened human lung on display can now fill out pledge cards to stop smoking and even drop off their unused cigarettes.

One former smoker said it was a display like the smoker's tar-plagued lung that made him quit years ago.

"The lungs of smokers down there are black to start out with and they're about half the size of a regular lung. You can understand why someone would be short of breath," said former smoker Ralph Woodruff.

The stop smoking pledge cards will be available at the exhibit until the Body Worlds Two exhibit closes on July 23.

Groups Prepare For Those Who Want To Kick Habit

With the smoking ban starting, the Colorado Quitline has been inundated with calls. For the last few months they've been averaging 100 calls a day. This week, they're averaging 250 calls a day. They've also hired 15 part-time counselors to help support people trying to quit smoking.

The state Health Department has distributed more than 28,000 nicotine-patch kits since December. They're free, paid for with a $6 million stop-smoking budget that comes from a $25 million allocation for all anti-smoking programs in the state. Colorado is one of the first states to offer such a patch.

Drug companies say they often see big increases in sales of nicotine patches and gum when a ban goes into effect. And even hypnotists are predicting they'll see more business.