It was a struggle to sing in clubs and bars filled with cigarette smoke, but jazz vocalist Keahi Conjugacion, who suffers from asthma and bronchitis, endured in venues around the Island and New York for more than 20 years.

"As an entertainer, it's very difficult to perform in places with smoke, because as we sing we are inhaling and exhaling secondhand smoke," Conjugacion, 52, says.

Cigar smoke in particular affected her performance; she says the cigars' stronger and longer-lasting odors drove her crazy. She'd take frequent breaks between songs — asking other musicians to cover — so she could catch her breath. She always had a glass of water nearby, but still she would choke up, gasping for fresh air.

Conjugacion wants to educate others about lung disease and share her experiences. So when friend and fellow entertainer Cathy Foy-Mahi asked her to join the lineup for Saturday night's American Lung Association of Hawaii's "Breathe Concert," in support of the existing smoking ban in public places such as bars and restaurants, she didn't hesitate.

Conjugacion is among the 154,000 Hawai'i residents who suffer from lung disease, which includes asthma, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, according to the lung association, a nonprofit that aims to prevent lung disease and promote lung health.

She says she was sometimes hospitalized after a gig — "too many unnecessary times" to remember. Doctors gave her shock treatment to help open up her constricted lung muscles in order to breathe.

"It was like a nightmare," she recalls. "About four times I had to go into emergency, but it's so terrible because it takes a while to relax the lung muscles."

Foy-Mahi, Conjugacion and a host of other local entertainers will unite on stage at Hawai'i Theatre with their music and a message that clean, smoke-free air is important for health. A hula halau and the Diamond Head Theatre Shooting Stars also will perform.

Foy-Mahi, who is chairwoman of the concert and a board member of the Hawai'i lung association, says she wants asthma to disappear.

"My 9-year-old niece suffers from asthma — there's nothing more terrifying than seeing a young child struggle to breathe," she says. "As a performer, singer and entertainer, I think it's very important that everyone has the right to work in a smoke-free environment because of the fact that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke."

Foy-Mahi says she can't tolerate singing in smoke-filled rooms and that many entertainers feel the same way. That's how she got the idea to rally performers for a concert to support and retain the state law prohibiting smoking in public places.

In November 2006, Hawai'i joined 13 other states to implement the law as a public-health initiative. The law drew a storm of criticism from smokers'-rights organizations and business owners who said it discriminated against smokers. Many licensed bar owners say they've lost business since the law went into effect.

The concert takes place four days before the state Legislature convenes, and it's no coincidence, says Jean Evans, lung association executive director.

"We did choose the date because it is the Saturday before the legislative session opens and we do anticipate some attacks on the law," says Evans. "There are a few people who would like to roll that back — we believe they are in the minority."

Evans says it's not a personal-liberties issue, and that a person's right to smoke stops when it starts hurting others. She says people just need to be mindful of others when smoking.

Concert emcee and singer — and former smoker — Al Waterson, 61, wants to spread awareness of the health effects of smoking. He quit smoking 18 years ago.

"At one time I used to think I could get all raspy and sound like a blues singer," says Waterson, who recalls smoking 2 1/2 packs every day.

Waterson, who performs regularly at special events and concerts, says every club on the island he appeared at was filled with smoke. He didn't realize smoking was hurting his throat until a friend came down with throat cancer. He says he couldn't keep singing if he wanted to smoke: His voice was hoarse, he was out of breath easily, and he experienced bouts of dry heaving.

After he quit, he could see the difference.

"I just decided that I got stronger, my lungs were better off, and I could take in more air for my lungs, and I could hit notes I couldn't hit before," he says.

Waterson still sings in smoke-filled rooms, but he says the air is much better since the smoking ban went into effect.

Lung association director of development Beth-Ann Kozlovich says fundraising for its asthma programs is "really tough," but the concert will help support all of the organization's programs. She says the concert replaces the organization's annual gala Christmas dinner, and hopes it will reach a wider audience, mostly people who are affected by lung disease across the state.

"It's a concert with a purpose, and I think most of us want to feel that we're adding to life and we're making a difference in the community, in the lives of the people we care about and with so many of our friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers, suffering from lung disease," says Kozlovich, who has asthma and whose father died from lung cancer.

Waterson says he hopes the concert will entertain as well as educate.

"If we can get one person to stop smoking, that'll be great," he says.

WHAT, WHO'S AT 'BREATHE'

A song titled "Breathe," composed by Johnson Enos, will make its premiere at Saturday's concert. The tune includes a Hawaiian verse by Keola Donaghy, and arrangement by Kenneth Makuakane and a vocal arrangement by Aaron J. Sala.

The lineup of entertainers: