The day has finally come, Ohio is smoke free! Last month voters in Ohio overwhelming approved a state-wide smoking ban in all public places and today that ban goes into effect.

The battle for clean indoor air in Ohio wasn’t an easy one. On last months ballot there were two competing initiatives, Smoke Free Ohio and Smoke Less Ohio. SFO would create a state law and SLO would have amended the Constitution. If both passed SLO would trump SFO. The difference? SLO was sponsored by the tobacco industry and actually constitutionally guaranteed smokers the right to smoke in public. SFO waged a great campaign to educate the voters about the differences and why it was important to not only vote yes for SFO but to also vote no on SLO.

I’ve already seen some restaurants put up no smoking signs as early as two to three weeks ago and the rest of them should have them up today.

For anyone confused about where smoking is banned here’s a general list, though certainly not all-inclusive:
- Stores/Retail locations
- Restaurants
- Bars
- Patios if the patio is connected to the restaurant or bar by a door
- Places of employment (including company owned cars)

For complete details on the law visit the Ohio Department of Health’s website. You can also download a state-approved no smoking sign on their website.

There has been a lot of confusion about how to report violations of the new law. Local police will not be enforcing it right now. You need to call 1-866-559-OHIO (6446) to report violations.