Ohio passed a law banning smoking tobacco in all public places in Novemeber 2006. Ohio will begin enforcing that law starting in May of 2007. The smoking ban in Ohio is similar to other smoking bans in California and New York. Illinois is also considering a smoking ban like Ohio. Even though the smoking ban law was passed in 2006 it has never been enforced. Websites about the Ohio smoking ban say that enforcement of the Ohio smoking ban law will begin in early May 2007.

What is public opinion about the Ohio smoking ban?

Most Ohioans are in favor of the Ohio smoking ban. They are concerned about their health and don’t want to have to worry about the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke when they are eating in restaurants or drinking in bars. Employees of restaurants and bars are not all happy about the Ohio smoking ban. Some are concerned that their regular customers will stop going out and so they will lose money. Mostly wait and bar staff make the majority of their money in tips. If people stop coming out because they can’t smoke the wages for some bar and restaurant employees could drop dramatically. Despite their concerns it does not look like there will be a revision of the smoking ban in Ohio.

Bar and restaurant owners are waiting to see what the effects of the smoking ban will be on their restaurants and bars. Before May 2007 the Ohio smoking ban was not enforced so there was not a dramatic drop off in customers. Businesses are hoping that the business they lose from smokers will be made up for by non-smokers who will now go to businesses they wouldn’t go to before because smoking was allowed. In some places that have smoking bans like New York bar and restaurants owners reported a dramatic decrease in their earning after the public smoking ban when into effect. It is not known if that will happen to Ohio businesses as a result of the Ohio public smoking ban. City codes were revised to accommodate the smoking ban. Those revisions will also effect some bars and restaurants.

Where can I find more information on the Ohio smoking ban?

There are lots of websites on the Internet that give information about the Ohio smoking ban. We can help you find the most current sites that have the latest information about the Ohio smoking ban. You can look to see what groups initially argued for the Ohio ban on smoking and which groups argued against it. The Internet can help you get a fair, non biased view of the smoking ban in Ohio.