Though our opponents are trying everything they can to stop SmokeFreeOhio, we are successfully moving forward with our campaign.

Tobacco and alcohol interests tried to push through a weak pro-smoking law in the legislature, but were unsuccessful.  Now they are making a desperate attempt to defeat SmokeFreeOhio by proposing an amendment that denies Constitutional protections to hundreds of thousands of workers across this state. They are also taking SmokeFreeOhio to court in order to invalidate signatures we collected last year. Read on to find out how SmokeFreeOhio is effectively meeting these challenges.

Pro-Smoking Constitutional Amendment

A coalition being led by the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco has demonstrated that it has no respect for the Constitution, the voters, or the health of Ohioans. A constitutional amendment they are proposing carves out exemptions for a long list of businesses and fails to protect large categories of workers from exposure to secondhand smoke.  It would also overturn the 21 strong smoke-free public policies now in effect in Ohio, replace them with a weak statewide law, and prohibit communities from passing any local smoke-free laws.

View a side-by-side comparison of the SmokeFreeOhio law and the pro-smoking constitutional amendment.

It would wipe out the Columbus ordinance that has been in place for more than a year. This clean indoor air law was passed by Columbus City Council and upheld by the city’s voters on two separate occasions. The Ohio Licensed Beverage Association will now take their third shot at refusing the voters of Columbus what they have said they want: protection from secondhand smoke for all workers and patrons.

SmokeFreeOhio, supported by doctors, hospitals and many health organizations, is instead proposing an initiated statute which will appear on the November ballot that would protect every Ohioan’s right to breathe clean indoor air and put all businesses on a level playing field.

Make no mistake, our opposition is now trying to confuse Ohio voters by placing a competing issue on the November ballot. Their proposal does little to protect the public health, does absolutely nothing to level the playing field for businesses or preserve local control, and will in no way deter our campaign from successfully moving forward.

The Ohio Licensed Beverage Association’s proposal would amend the Constitution of the state of Ohio. The Ohio legislature and Ohio voters could only revise the law through another constitutional amendment.

SmokeFreeOhio, however, is working through the initiated statute process, thereby creating a new state law. In the unlikely event that adjustments need to be made to the SmokeFreeOhio law after it passes at the ballot, those revisions could be made with the assistance of public health professionals through the legislative process.

What Ohio needs is a fair smoke-free workplace policy that applies to all businesses statewide. With 21 smoke-free communities in Ohio and 13 states with a comprehensive law in place, why would Ohio willingly take a step backward and leave large portions of our citizens exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace? Why in the world would we amend our state’s Constitution to put a smoking area in a restaurant?

Court Challenge

Our opponents have used their deep pockets to file multiple lawsuits claiming that some of our signatures are at risk of being invalid. Unfortunately, they found one judge who agreed with their claim.

We at SmokeFreeOhio strongly disagree with the ruling. SmokeFreeOhio did exactly what we were told to do by the Chief Elections Counsel of the Ohio Secretary of State, and the people of Ohio should not be penalized as a result.

SmokeFreeOhio has already appealed this unfair decision, and we won a legal victory when the court granted us a stay, meaning the signatures remain valid until the appeal of our case is heard.

The issue is a new state requirement designed to make the petition gathering process more transparent. Based upon the best legal advice, we instructed paid signature collectors to list the American Cancer Society as their employer. Our goal was to clearly show who is leading the effort to eliminate secondhand smoke and the cancer, heart disease, and lung disease it causes.

We are disappointed with the judge's ruling, but far from defeated. The Ohio Licensed Beverage Association’s reports of SmokeFreeOhio’s death are greatly exaggerated. We remain confident that we will be successful on appeal. We have also gathered signatures to replace the ones the court invalidated, if necessary. Whether by winning on appeal or turning in the additional signatures, we will successfully cross this hurdle. Ohioans will not be denied the opportunity to vote to protect their right to breathe clean indoor air in public places.  They will not be denied the right to make this decision just because the tobacco industry has the deep pockets necessary to continue funding multiple lawsuits.

The Ohio Licensed Beverage Association, RJ Reynolds Tobacco, and other tobacco companies are working to stop SmokeFreeOhio because they know Ohio voters resoundingly support smoke-free laws. This is just another hurdle we will have to jump. It will not stop more than a thousand volunteers from supporting the SmokeFreeOhio campaign. If anything, this ruling will inspire them to work even harder to make sure everyone votes FOR a SmokeFreeOhio in November.

SmokeFreeOhio’s poll numbers show that if the election were held today, 60 percent of likely voters would vote YES to eliminate smoking in all public places and workplaces including bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and bingo halls.  The majority of Ohioans believe it is time for a fair, uniform clean indoor air policy in this state that protects all workers and patrons and assures that all businesses play by the exact same set of rules.