Complaints on smoking-ban violations drop in Ohio

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Complaints filed against businesses for violating Ohio’s smoking ban are dropping, a sign that more bars and restaurants are following the law, state health officials said.

Ohio voters approved the ban in 2006, and since enforcement began the number of complaints has dropped from 21,604 in 2007 to 9,228 in 2009, according to an analysis by the Dayton Daily News published Sunday.

During that time period, about 3,300 complaints involved businesses in Montgomery County, which includes Dayton, the newspaper said. Only Cuyahoga and Hamilton counties have had more complaints.

But following the statewide trend, complaints in Montgomery County have declined — from 1,450 in the last eight months of 2007 to 522 in all of 2009.

Compliance has gotten so good that recent complaints involve repeat offenders, not so much first-time violators, said Mandy Burkett, chief of the health department’s indoor environments section.