By Lori EhdeA petition is gaining signatures among local people who support a smoke-free environment, and so far it has 665 names.Behind the petition is Nobles-Rock Public Health Educator Paula Anderson.She started circulating the petition last summer at the Rock County Fair as part of her work with Tobacco Free Communities Grant. The goal of the newly-formed Rock County SAFE Coalition (Safe Air For Everyone) is to have smoke-free public places in all of Rock County.Buildings and property owned by Rock County, the city of Luverne and the Luverne School District are already smoke-free.But the petition targets bars and restaurants in particular because of the danger second-hand smoke poses to both customers and employees."Waitresses have the highest death rate of any female occupational group," she said, "and that’s because of their exposure to second-hand smoke."A local billboard draws attention to smoke in restaurants. It says, "Smoke doesn’t know how to stay in the smoking section."Nine states have so far banned smoking in bars and restaurants. They are New York, Montana, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island.Anderson said a year after New York’s smoking ban, restaurants and bars in New York saw an 8.5 percent increase in business.Some counties in Minnesota have approved similar bans. They are Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, which include Minneapolis and St. Paul. Anderson said she doesn’t think Rock County is ready for a county-wide smoking ban in bars and restaurants, but she said she hopes the petition will help her increase awareness and public education."So many people think second-hand smoke is just an irritant," she said. "It’s not. It’s a toxin, and it kills more people than anything else, except tobacco use itself, alcohol or obesity-related ailments. … It’s the fourth-leading cause of preventable death."Anderson said she hopes the petition helps bring this information to light."We’re not trying to bring up any issues about smokers’ rights," she said. "We’re just trying to bring this forward as a public health issue."Her plan is to bring the petition to local municipalities sometime in 2006. The petition can be found at the Korner Gas Stop, Glen’s Food Center and Pizza Ranch in Luverne and at Rauk’s Hilltop Stop in Beaver Creek.