In the three months spanning late 2006 and early 2007, two South Carolina circuit courts confronted nearly identical questions and arrived at astonishingly divergent conclusions. Both suits stemmed from municipal ordinances that severely curtailed public smoking within two South Carolina cities. This Note examines and evaluates the reasoning of those courts’ decisions, focusing on arguments relating to preemption and constitutionality. Additionally, the Note discusses the policy justifications for and against local smoking bans.