For those of you who don't live in Ohio, and/or don't know about it, a law passed in the last election -- effective tomorrow -- wherein there is NO SMOKING in ANY workplace or public place. Not only do you hafta step outside to smoke, you can only do it in approved areas.

Even on your own property. Think about that.

The guy I work for owns this building. He owns it. Period. The poor schumck can't even step out into the plant and have a cigarette -- in his own building.

A few thoughts:

*** We have liquor licenses for businesses, why not have smoking licenses?

*** The new Smoke-Free Ohio Law is not a health issue. It's about property ownership and the right to conduct business as an owner sees fit.

*** Maybe the next move should be to forbid unruly children to dine in adult restaurants -- now there's an idea (for those people who want to spend quality time with their kids).

*** Or, perhaps it will soon be illegal for obese people to order fattening foods. After all, some people are disgusted by watching an overweight person eat. Think about what that does to the observer's stress level, watching a fat person scarf down a cheeseburger.....

OH, WAIT. That has already begun. New York City, just yesterday, has banned restaurants from using trans fats. Excuse me, but I thought that people who OWN a business can use whatever ingredients they want -- fully declaring them to their customers -- and then if the customer doesn't want to eat that food they can choose NOT to eat at that establishment.

It's all about choice, folks. And now Ohio business owners no longer have the choice to do what they want within their own walls.

And don't think I'm up on my soapbox because I'm a smoker. I'm an EX-smoker. This has NOTHING to do with smoking. It has EVERYTHING to do with control.

Wow. Now I feel better.

I do see a difference between private property that is used for a business, and private property that is not. A resturant for example has to meet health codes. So to that extent, these laws don't dicate what can be done on private property any more then other laws.

Ma has a similar law and I think it is the best thing ever. Sure it may be upsetting to smokers but if it prevents people from getting cancer I am all for it. I wish we could get a national band on smoking in the workplace.

Hi

I quit smoking a year and 8 months ago but smoked for 24 years. I dont like cigarette smoke near me when I am eating, but I also didnt like it when I was a smoker. I think the new law in Ohio is too stringent though.

Babs in TX

334/190 ish

I actually think it is a very good law. I understand it may upset people who own their own business and the building they operate out of, but the bottom line is that health is the issue here. When my son was born, we soon learned he had all kinds of allergies, and that a major one was cigarette smoke. Many of our relatives were mindful of this, but that didn't change the fact that if we went to visit them, they didn't smoke while we were there, but they did when we were not. The effects of the cigarettes were still there, as mentioned, in the curtains, on the walls, etc. It would still cause my son to have a severe reaction just being in the room where people weren't smoking at the time, but had been. So, yes, we stopped going to their homes because we do not and cannot dictate what someone does in their home if they are using it as their home and nothing else. However, a business can not choose to cater to smokers or non-smokers only. Therefore, all their customers have the right to visit their establishment without being ill when they leave due to smoke residue. And if someone steps outside to smoke, when he/she or other people enter and exit the building, if they are close to the door the smoke does tend to wafte back into the building.

Good law...OLD law here on the left coast.

I recently called the corporate office of the Assisted Living where my mom lives because a sfew of the old codgers were gathered on benches at the front doors--the automatic opeining front doors that open ALL the way anytime anyone passes near them inside or out--and GUESS where their smoke was going? They moved the people away from the door. (It isn't a nursing home, they aren't--most of them--at death's door...so they are well enough to perpetrate their suicides away from those who do NOT want to breathe that stuff. They moved the smoking area.

My husband works for a municipality. The smokers used to be able to go outside. Now they must be 50' from a door or window.

The lady who turned her home into a business made herself subject to those laws...her choice.

Sue

Formerly Ms. Camels and then Ms. Marlboro...currently not smoking.

They made my university non-smoking this semester. Big signs all over the place saying, "No smoking within 25 feet of entrances." They also have little bus-stop huts scattered around campus for the smokers, since they aren't supposed to smoke on the walkways either. I love it. Before, you had to walk through a cloud of smoke just to get in a building. It was disgusting. There are still people that smoke on the walkways (wish people would learn to blow their smoke away from other people), but it is much better than it was.

The lady who turned her home into a business made herself subject to those laws...her choice.

NOT her choice.

The business has been in her home for over 20 years.

The law took effect an hour and 15 minutes ago.

Bull,

Just quit smoking and you won't have a problem with this .

edie

This has been done in California and it is working quite well. There is something to be said as a non smoker to be able to enjoy your dinner without the smell from the smoking section waffling over.

Smoking is a choice, and I choose not to do so. I don't think my health needs to be impacted because smokers are not concious enough to step outside. It is one thing to preach about smoking, but it is another thing to think about WHO ELSE is impacted from second hand smoke.

I find it absolutely disgusting to smell smoke on children, their parents need to use their heads a bit. My MIL smoked around her children and now is not allowed to see her grandchildren unless she is at my home, where she is not allowed to smoke. She doesn't give a damn that she had 2 children die very young as she puffed away in front of them and 2 who now have severe health problems. And even with a lung cancer scare and the Dr telling her she has the lungs of an 85 year old woman at 45 she still lights up 2 packs a day.

It is your choice to smoke, and for the rest of us we choose our health, so stepping outside while it may inconvience you, protects the rest of us!

Bull,

Just quit smoking and you won't have a problem with this .

edie

Bullwinkle said in the very first post of this thread that she/he is not a smoker.

Just quit smoking and you won't have a problem with this .

Yeah, I'm not a smoker.

And, yeah......I still have a problem with this.

It's a control issue to my way of thinking.

And just as much as I abhor censorship of any kind, it rankles me to know that the government can tell me what I can and can't do on my own property.

Or any property owner, for that matter -- be it a private citizen or a business owner.

I'm not asking you to agree with me. In fact, I'm not asking anything. I just wanted to throw the topic out there to read commentary about it.

So, thanks, everyone.

NOT her choice.

The business has been in her home for over 20 years.

The law took effect an hour and 15 minutes ago.

By making her home into a business twenty years ago, she subjected herself to the laws in place at the time and any to come. There is no law about what she can do in or around her home, right? I mean her NEIGHBORS can smoke on their porches or in their living rooms, can't they? The law is not about her home; it's about her business.

There are TREMENDOUS tax breaks for home day care providers...and there is a trade-off for being able to deduct parts of your mortgage and property tax and house cleaning and toilet paper and every trip to the grocery store that the rest of us can't take. And the trade-off is that she is subject to business-related laws.

If smoking at home is that important to her, she can rent a business place or close down her day care business.

BTW, here, she wouldn't be able to smoke within 50 feet of the entrance to a business...whether she owns it or not.

Yeah, I'm not a smoker.

And, yeah......I still have a problem with this.

It's a control issue to my way of thinking.

And just as much as I abhor censorship of any kind, it rankles me to know that the government can tell me what I can and can't do on my own property.

Or any property owner, for that matter -- be it a private citizen or a business owner.

I'm not asking you to agree with me. In fact, I'm not asking anything. I just wanted to throw the topic out there to read commentary about it.

So, thanks, everyone.

Bullwinkle I am as far into non invasive political thinking as it comes. What I do is none of everyone else's damn business. BUT I do choose not to smoke (as you do) and I choose to breathe free air. I think telling someone they can not smoke in a business where others are is fair. Now telling them that they could not smoke in their own home is another matter. Which wasn't what the law is about.

If people choose to quit smoking because of the policy and cold (I am in Michigan so I know cold) I think that is their choice. But it will help them be healthier so BONUS for public health!

I think the day will come when you cannot smoke ANYWHERE except the privacy of your own home.

Newborns in Texas are routinely tested for the presence of drugs and/or alcohol and can be taken into custody by CPS if they test positive. I think at some point in the future, a similar test will be done for nicotine.

I am all for this law. I had a dear friend die from Lung Cancer. He never smoked a cigarette in his entire life. But, he worked in an office that was filled with smokers who freely smoked around him.

Second hand smoke is bad!!