Crackdown on smoking increases in Ohio

Smoking is under attack.

Ohio’s Workplace Smoke Free Act, which went into effect in December 2006, has largely eradicated indoor smoking at bars, restaurants and places of employment. But the law also is seen as having accelerated a cultural change in Ohio that has opened the door for a broader assault on smoking.

To be sure, not every part of the state has seen further restrictions on smoking during the past decade. But in recent years a growing number of businesses, universities and governmental bodies have begun putting further restrictions on the use of tobacco products - namely bans on smoking outdoors. And more restrictions are expected to be on the way.

“In tobacco control, what we look at is trying to change the social norms of tobacco use, and I think we know that’s occurred here as a result of this law,” said Lisa Zumstein, a sanitation program specialist at the Ohio Department of Health. “We see increased public support for the law itself and also the expansion of smoke-free and tobacco-free policies that are adopted in areas beyond even what the law covers.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21.6 percent of Ohio adults smoked in 2015, down slightly from 23.1 percent in 2007.

While the objectives of smoking bans can vary, most bans seek to foster a spirit of health and wellness, said Shelly Kiser, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Ohio.

“Everyone has become more aware of everyone’s right to breathe clean air, and this has led to the further limits on smoking that we are seeing now,” Kiser said.

Although still relatively uncommon, corporate smoking bans are starting to pop up - and they affect thousands of employees around the state.

Benton Harbor, Michigan-based Whirlpool, which employees 97,000 worldwide and 3,400 at a plant in Clyde, put a policy in place in June 2016 that bans all tobacco use on its U.S. properties - inside and out. The company also employees 2,400 at a plant in Marion.

“We believe it is important that our work environments foster a culture that supports employee health and well being,” company spokeswoman Juliet Johnson said in a statement.

Toledo-based Owens Corning has put in place a plan to phase out all smoking on company property worldwide by the end of 2018, said Frank O'Brien-Bernini, the company's chief sustainability officer. That move will include prohibiting smoking at the company's Newark plant by the end of 2018, he said. The company's Granville Science & Technology Center has been smoke free for years, he added.

"The health science is indisputable and well documented," O'Brien-Bernini said. "We just said 'now is the time'."

The smoking bans are part of a broader wellness effort at the company, he said. Owens Corning employs approximately 550 employees at its Newark plant and 500 employees at its Granville facility.

Many universities in Ohio have in recent years enacted complete bans on tobacco use and e-cigarettes. Those bans typically include a ban on smoking anywhere on university property.

“The end goal is fostering culture change across campus,” said Ohio State University Spokesman Benjamin Johnson.

Ohio State University put its ban in place in 2014. It applies at OSU’s main campus and at its satellite campuses around the state. Ohio University put a ban in place at its campuses in August 2015. The universities have a combined total enrollment of more than 104,000 students.

Many hospital campuses also have total tobacco bans on their properties, said John Palmer, spokesman for the Ohio Hospitals Association.

“They are committed to total wellness and really making sure they are leading examples,” he said.

A handful of government bodies have also moved ahead with bans on smoking on government property. Licking County took the step in 2012, banning tobacco use on its properties.

On the federal level, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced in November it would ban smoking at public housing projects, including inside residential units, offices and within 25 feet of buildings.

A hot topic around the state now is raising the minimum age to purchase cigarettes from 18 to 21, said Micah Berman, an assistant professor of public health and law at Ohio State University.

“That’s something that’s really spreading,” said Berman, who focuses his research on public policy and tobacco. “Most kids from high school get cigarettes from other kids, and if the age is raised to 21 that makes it a lot harder for that to happen.”

Columbus is considering the move, and Cleveland’s ordinance went into effect in April.

“It’s probably going to pass in Columbus,” Berman said.

Indeed, the cultural tide against smoking appears to have turned in many areas, with fewer opponents to anti-smoking measures willing to speak out in public, he said.

“Even the tobacco companies for the most part lobby behind the scenes,” he said.