Smoking ban challenge to be taken up by Ohio Supreme Court

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COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to take up a case over the statewide indoor smoking ban that voters passed in 2006 and answer the question of whether health department officials overstepped their bounds when they cited a Columbus bar for violating the ban.

The Ohio Department of Health sued Zeno’s Victorian Village in Columbus, which is represented by the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, over its violations of the ban. Zeno’s then countersued. Last year, the Franklin County Common Pleas Court sided with the bar, but then the 10th District Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 in favor of the state.

Zeno’s is appealing to the Ohio Supreme Court, saying the enforcement of the ban violates the separation of powers and unreasonably tramples on property rights.

In November 2006, voters adopted a state law that bans smoking in the state’s 280,000 work places, including bars and restaurants.

Health department officials began enforcing the ban in May 2007, and 60 percent of the citations in the first two-and-a-half years went to bar owners, according to court documents. Individual smokers have not been cited, the 1851 Center said in its filing.

“Irrespective of what one thinks of the merits of this law, it was never intended to result in the indiscriminate imposition of $5,000 citations on innocent business owners,” said 1851 Center Executive Director Maurice Thompson. “These enforcement complications are largely a function of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole: local taverns are not public property, and owners of these properties have a right to decide how their indoor air is used, just as potential patrons have a right to freely enter or exit.”

American Cancer Society of Ohio spokeswoman Marianne Farmer said her agency is pleased to hear that the high court is taking the case and expects a ruling upholding the law.

“And we expect businesses in Ohio to abide by the law to protect their employees from second-hand smoke,” Farmer said, noting no statewide smoking ban has been struck down on constitutional grounds.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.