Miami Student

Issue date: 3/6/07 Section: Community

Media Credit: Whitney Hofacker Junior Tommy Harnden must light a cigarette in front of Skippers Bar since the establishment of the law prohibitng smoking indoors.

Oxford bars may be smoke free since the ban passed in the November elections, but that does not mean smoking students are shying aw ay from nighttime fun uptown.

Since the smoking ban went into effect Dec. 7 in Ohio, smokers have been forced to light up outside in all restaurants and bars. Yet Oxford restaurant and bar owners say they have not seen a significant decrease in sales so far.

"It's still too early to tell with the ban going into effect close to the start of the holiday season," said Brick Street Bar and Grill owner, Mark Weisman. "Fortunately for us with (an) outdoor patio ... people can go outside to smoke without leaving the building, which is very convenient."

Weisman said students have been understanding of the bar's compliance with the law and have refrained from smoking inside.

Though the state does not yet have any enforcement rules in place, uptown bar employees must ask smokers to step outside if they want to smoke. According to Weisman, this has not been a real problem at Brick Street.

But despite the lack of complaints about indoor smoking in Oxford, bars around Ohio are still dealing with violations, said Kristopher Weiss, spokesperson for the state Department of Health.

Under the law, patrons may not smoke in public places and businesses must remove ashtrays, as well as display "No Smoking" signs throughout the premises. If patrons see a violation of any of these stipulations, the Department of Health encourages them to call 1-866-559-OHIO to report the facility in question.

Weiss said Ohio is currently fielding complaints for violations of the indoor smoking ban through this hotline, which is set up to store information on businesses that still allow smoking.

"We are responding to those complaints with a formal letter reminding business owners of their obligation under the law," he said.

Weiss said the Ohio Department of Health has been notified of more than 14,000 potential violations, but cannot levy fines until completion of a public hearing by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. The committee will meet and seek public input to set enforcement laws at a date to be set later this spring.

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