LAKE COUNTY, Ohio — It’s been 16 years since Ohio changed the law and began enforcing Ohio’s Smoke-Free Workplace Act, but less than two years since the act was modified to include e-cigarettes and electronic vapor products (EVPs).
At the Lake County General Health Department, there’s an ongoing effort to remind the public of that law modification as they hope to reduce the use of EVPs, which are growing increasingly popular—especially among younger people.
That’s something Emily Kolacz, a health educator at LCGH, knows firsthand.
“I think e-cigarette use, in general, is huge nowadays, especially with the younger population, and they probably have no idea that it's a law now that it's banned inside public places,” Kolacz said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 36.2% of high school students have at some point used an EVP. They estimate over 11 million adults used EVPs in 2021 alone.
“It can cause almost the same diseases, cancers, heart disease, lung disease, all of those are all associated with vaping and e-cigarette use,” Kolacz said. “Secondhand smoke and secondhand aerosol are huge things to people who aren't even using these things.”
That’s one of the reasons Kolacz and LCGH are making a new push to remind the public that vaping is included in the workplace smoking ban. Partnering with the Ohio Department of Health, a new initiative is being made to remind businesses of the modified law.
“The Department of Health will be sending out new signs that include no smoking and no vaping on them to all the businesses within Ohio. And they want us to just get the word out…start at the local level and just start talking about it,” Kolacz said.
The partnership includes information businesses can use about the law and about why vaping is included in it.
Information like the following released by LCGH:
Ohio’s Smoke Free Workplace Law originally went into effect in 2007. This law banned smoking in all indoor public places, essentially providing protection from secondhand smoke in restaurants, businesses, bars, and other workplaces. At that time, electronic or e-cigarettes were just starting to come on the market. Their overall popularity would not begin to grow until 2014, so there was no need to include them in the law. As e-cigarette use began to grow, the concern about secondhand aerosols also began to grow. Due to this concern, in October 2021, the Ohio Legislature made the decision to include e-cigarettes in Ohio’s Smoke Free Workplace Law, meaning e-cigarettes can no longer be used in indoor public places. This protects individuals from the following items that can be found in e-cigarette aerosol:
· Heavy metals, such as zinc and nickel
· Cancer-causing chemicals, such as benzene
· Exhaled nicotine
· Ultrafine particles, which can harm your heart and lungs
At Pickle Bill’s Lobster House, changes to smoking laws are nothing new to them. Operating since 1967, the seafood restaurant and bar has been around long enough for owner Marianne Powell to remember when smoking was allowed indoors.
“Obviously, we would ask the customers if they would like smoking or non-smoking. If the smoking sections were full, most people would opt to sit in the non-smoking area,” Powell said.
But when the Smoke-Free Workplace Act was passed and enforced in 2007, they quickly adapted.
“We do have options. We have an upstairs that is not covered. So it's open air, and people can smoke up there, and they can look out over the river so they can have their cigarette or their vape and have a nice view as well as the non-smokers,” Powell said.
Powell is among the business owners that are happy to post the signage LCGH and ODH is offering.
"We'll post it," Powell said. "Again, we like to abide by all the rules and regulations. And it's respectful to our other guests."
Guests like Alisa Bordner, who was dining at Pickle Bill's for her birthday Saturday evening, feel the same.
"I smoke; that’s who I am. I don’t like it indoors, I don't smoke in my house, and I understand people who don't like it. Go outside, do your own thing, and don't be around people who don't enjoy it. It’s a good law; that’s the way it is," Bordner said. "You choose to smoke, you go outside, plain and simple."
Businesses looking for free signage or more information are encouraged to call 440-350-2451 for more information.
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