Collegian

On Mar. 1, 2006 Summit County started and later ended a county-wide smoking ban.  The ban halted smoking in most public places.  Smoking bans have been discussed on both the state and local levels.

In Jan. 2006 a smoking ban proposed by the American  Cancer Society was discussed by the Ohio General Assembly.  At that time the issue came to the table the ACS asked the assembly to take no further action said the ACS Media Advocacy Coordinator, Wendy Simpkins.

On Nov. 17, 2005 the ACS turned in a petition signed by 165,000 people to the Ohio Secretary of State.  The petition proposed the Smoke-Free Work Place Act and was certified in Dec. 2005.

The petition was part of an initiated statue process  according to Simpkins who said, "We firmly believe that it is every Ohioan's right to breathe clean indoor air at work and in public places."

Starting in May 2006 the ACS will attempt to collect 100,000 more signatures and submit them in July 2006 to bring the issue to the ballot. The ACS looks "forward to giving every Ohio voter the chance to decide this issue in Nov.," said Simpkins.

Started in Jan. 2004 and ending in July 2005 the Lorain County Urban League spent $140,000 to enact a clean air ordinance in the city of Elyria.  It came down to a stalemate vote in Elyria City Council on Mar. 2004.

"We were unsuccessful in getting the ordinance" passed, however "we were very successful in informing individuals about the hazards of second hand smoke," said Lorain County Urban League President & CEO, Fred Wright.

"It is a lot of controversy, a lot of business people downtown does not want a smoking ban," said the City of Elyria Clerk of Council, Art Weber.

A Lorain County survey taken in May 2004 revealed that 73 percent of the people were interested in the ordinance being passed.

"Second hand smoke is a danger and 53,000 people die a year from second hand smoke nationally," said Wright.

In the city of Lorain "a city wide smoking ban has not been discussed," said Clerk of Council, Nancy Greer. As for the entire county of Lorain having a smoking ban any time soon, Theresa Upton, the Lorain County Clerk of Board said, "the Board of Commissioners have not discussed a smoking ban at any of our meetings."

According to the American Cancer Society web site (http://www.cancer.org/), "over one million people get cancer each year." "Second hand smoke is a danger and 53,000 people a year die from it nationally," said Wright.

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