OHIO - enforcement of existing smoking ban a must..

January 19, 2010 -

Background: Ohio voters approved the indoor smoking ban in November 2006, making Ohio the first Midwestern state and the first tobacco-growing state to enact such a ban. Ohio Department of Health estimates there are some 280,000 public places and places of employment in the State that are covered by the ban. Anyone who visits or works in these places should no longer be exposed to secondhand smoke.

What are penalties for violating the smoking ban??: Businesses: Warning letter, first violation; $100, second violation; $500, third violation; $1,000, fourth violation; and $2,500, fifth and subsequent violations. Note: fines may be doubled for intentional violations at the discretion of the enforcement entity and may be assessed on a daily basis for continuing violations. Individuals: Warning letter; first violation; $100, second and subsequent violations. Retaliation against Complainant: Warning letter, first violation; $1,000, second violation; $2,500 third and subsequent violations.

What are their proprietors’ obligations under the smoking ban??: They are essentially threefold: prohibit smoking, remove ashtrays and post no-smoking signs with the toll-free enforcement number – 1-866-559-OHIO (6446).

Ohio Smoking Ban Frequently Asked Questions - Ohio Department of Health.

Nearly three years after enforcement began of a voter-approved smoking ban prohibiting lighting up in most public places, hundreds of bars, clubs, restaurants, and even factories statewide continue to rack up violations, said Mandy Burkett, administrator of the state's smoke-free work force program for the Ohio Department of Health.

The state is suing two bars - Zeno's in Columbus and O'Neal's Tavern in Cincinnati - as test cases for whether they can get court injunctions to make repeat smoking ban violators pay their fines. Zeno's, which in a countersuit alleges the smoking ban is unconstitutional because it is not equally enforced statewide, owes more than $28,000 in fines, while O'Neal's owes more than $21,000.

In Lucas County alone, where Toledo is located, the biggest smoking ban violators are bars, the local health department has levied $118,600 worth of fines, of which just $5,134 have been paid.

The state is suing two bars - Zeno's in Columbus and O'Neal's Tavern in Cincinnati - as test cases for whether they can get court injunctions to make repeat smoking ban violators pay their fines. Zeno's, which in a countersuit alleges the smoking ban is unconstitutional because it is not equally enforced statewide, owes more than $28,000 in fines, while O'Neal's owes more than $21,000.

Dr. James Price, public health professor at the University of Toledo in a study showed a 45 percent drop in heart attacks in Bowling Green after the Wood County city implemented a smoking ban. That study, which also involved researchers at the former Medical College of Ohio, was one of 11 worldwide weighed by the Institute of Medicine, which recently concluded smoking bans can decrease heart attack rates. Adult smoking rates also have declined since Ohio's smoking ban went into effect.

Reference: Ohio weighs crackdown on violators of smoking ban Some local bars remain defiant of law by JULIE M. McKINNON BLADE STAFF WRITER, ToledoBlade.com, 1/17/2010.