Trade bodies have submitted their objections to the Private Bills bought by councils in Liverpool and London to ban smoking in public places.
The ALMR, BBPA and BHA have jointly registered their opposition to local authorities bringing in such legislation, backed by the Bii.
Nick Bish, the chief executive of the ALMR, said: "They shouldn’t be private bills as it’s a national policy. There’s a great danger of the outcome being a patchwork of inefficient local policy that will help no one."
A group of 50 restaurateurs in London has also submitted a petition, as has The Society of London Theatre.
Westminster Licensees Association said: "We accept that public opinion is moving on this issue and that it is right for this to be a matter of public debate, but it should be a national debate.
"The government's White Paper on Public Health rejected local initiatives such as this as being unpredictable, confusing for the customer and resulting in behavioural distortions in the market - in short it would damage business.
"You need only look to New York to see the real commercial impact of well-intentioned but misguided local initiatives like this. This is an example of the worst kind of political opportunism - a PR initiative to generate headlines not business."
The news came as environmental group the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment warned that smoking bans could lead to a dramatic increase in the amount of litter on the streets.
The group said that the proportion of cigarette ends has been increasing: from 23% of all street litter in 1996 to a third of all litter in 2004, and that a ban would drive more smokers and their cigarette ends onto the street.
