Ohio's smoking ban exempts residences

Tomorrow, the statewide smoking ban voters approved in November will go into effect.

The Canton Repository has published a nice Q & A about the ban, and reminds us that smoking is still legally permitted in private residences, including rented homes and apartments.

Landlords, however, are not required to allow smoking in their units. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission does not consider "non-smoking" stipulations to be discriminatory.

The Editor's prediction: Expect before long an argument to be made that apartments in multi-unit buildings should not be exempt from the ban because smoke can travel from individual units into hallways, which can be reasonably described as public spaces.