A group representing bar owners will ask Quebec Superior Court on Monday to strike down the province's strict anti-smoking law.

The law, which took effect earlier this year, bans smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places.

Peter Sergakis says Quebec bars are hurting because of a provincial smoking ban.
(CBC)

Bar owners say the ban is driving customers away and hurting their bottom line.

Peter Sergakis, a spokesman for the bar owners' association, said he knows of at least 25 bars that have gone out of business — and hundreds of others that are in serious financial trouble.

The owners are seeking an injunction that would temporarily overturn the law. It would also allow for smoking only in bars, Sergakis said.

"We don't want to suspend the law for everything," he said. "We agree that [in] the restaurants, there should be no smoking, and in public buildings, there should not be smoking."

Bar owners are also waiting for the Supreme Court of Canada to hear a challenge of the constitutionality of the anti-smoking law.

Anti-smoking groups say there usually is an initial drop in business when such laws take effect, but business usually picks up.