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The Dispatch wrote
Smoking-ban changes opposed by both sides
Sunday, November 16, 2008
By Jim Siegel
Two years after locking horns in a bitter fight over a statewide indoor smoking ban, the Ohio Restaurant Association and anti-smoking groups are now on the same side, fighting proposed exemptions to the law.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the smoking ban in 2006, and since then some veterans groups, bar owners and others have called for the legislature to carve out exceptions to the law.
Thirteen senators have signed onto Senate Bill 346, which would allow smoking at certain family-owned businesses and private clubs. Meanwhile, House Bill 592 would exempt stand-alone bars from the ban.
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- Zeno’s Bar challenges smoking ban enforcement
And this thread is about several groups trying to change that. Which is why we are talking about this.
Surely we can resolve this if we just talk about it some more.
Oh, I get it! It’s funny because you just crack one liners never actually talk about anything. Good one! :D
Oh, I get it! It’s funny because you just crack one liners never actually talk about anything. Good one! :D
Me-ow!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
BY JAMES NASH
Since Ohio began enforcing the statewide smoking ban in May 2007, reports of violations have come in at the rate of 64 a day, but just one-tenth have resulted in warnings or fines against businesses that allegedly allowed their customers to smoke.
Backers of the ban say the modest number of violations shows that businesses are complying without much nagging from health authorities, proof that the objections to the no-smoking rule were overstated.
Opponents, however, say the ban is being applied unevenly, with some areas dropping the hammer on bars, private clubs and other businesses that tolerate smoking, while other areas skimp on enforcement. Opponents also say health authorities are going after businesses rather than smokers.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers are pushing a bill in the Senate that would exempt private clubs and family-owned businesses from the ban. The bill’s sponsors say the ban has been especially hard on small businesses.
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