Lawmaker wants smoking ban changes

Publication Date: 2009-03-02

• Author:JOHN JARVIS
• Publication:Marion (OH) Star

Second-hand smoke is not the target, says Schuler

Whether the statewide smoking ban remains intact may depend on one senator's plans to reintroduce legislation that would add private clubs as an exemption and expand exemption for family-owned businesses.

Similar legislation, Senate Bill 346, which would have expanded the types of entities that would be exempt from the ban on indoor smoking in places of employment and other public places, died last year in the Ohio General Assembly.

But Sen. Robert Schuler, R-Sycamore Township where Cincinnati is located, sponsor of the bill, said he plans to re-introduce similar legislation in 2009.

Health officials oppose such efforts, saying the law reduces the threat of what they say is deadly secondhand smoke to employees and others in public places. The law applies to more than 280,000 establishments in the state and includes vehicles used for work.