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Advocates celebrate smoking ban
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Advocates gathered at the Statehouse on Thursday to celebrate Ohio’s ban on smoking in public places and urge restaurants, bars and other locations to abide by the law approved by voters.
“On this day exactly five years ago, the first round of signatures were turned in to the secretary of state’s office, marking the beginning of our Smoke Free Ohio initiative,” said John Hoctor, vice president of government relations for the American Cancer Society. “A record number of Ohioans are enjoying breathing clean air. More Ohioans are enjoying smoke-free workplaces and public places than ever before.”
Hoctor’s comments came a couple of days after the 10th District Court of Appeals upheld the statewide ban and resulting fines against a Columbus-area bar that allegedly allowed smoking on its premises.
In November 2006, voters approved the Smoke Free Workplace Act, a statewide smoking ban in public places and workplaces, including bars and restaurants. Enforcement began in May 2007.
Since then, health officials have conducted more than 33,000 investigations of violations, sent warnings to more than 3,600 businesses and issued 2,500 fines to those that have failed to comply, according to statistics compiled by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Zeno’s, a bar near downtown Columbus, has been fined about $30,000 for multiple violations since the ban took effect.
The business’s owner filed suit, however, questioning the constitutionality of the law and the legitimacy of enforcement actions.
Earlier this year, a lower court sided with the business and vacated the violations.
In his ruling at the time, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David E. Cain said business owners have no control over whether “someone rips out a cigarette and lights up” and cannot be held responsible if they have met other requirements of the smoking ban.
The appeals court this week reversed that decision, likely sending it to the Ohio Supreme Court.
According to the new ruling, “the evidence is overwhelming that [Zeno’s] … repeatedly and intentionally violated the Smoke Free Act, failed to comply with its provisions [of state law] ... and in so doing exposed patrons and employees to the very harm the statute is designed to prevent.”