The Columbus Dispatch wrote
Smoking ban nets zero fines in region
Monday, September 17, 2007
By James Nash
More than four months after state health authorities began enforcing a tough new anti-smoking law, not one business in central Ohio has been fined for violating it.
Just 34 warning letters have gone out to bars, veterans halls and other businesses in Franklin, Union, Delaware, Licking, Fairfield, Pickaway and Madison counties.
Although the Ohio Department of Health’s toll-free hot line has received more than 13,000 calls reporting suspected violations of the no-smoking law, many of those calls are duplicates fingering the same business, department spokesman Kristopher Weiss said.
The relatively mild impact in central Ohio stems from the fact that 16 municipalities — including Columbus and many of its suburbs — already had curbed smoking before Ohio voters enacted statewide restrictions in November.
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