WARREN - In the three years Ohio has been smoke-free, not a single building has qualified for the ''private club'' exemption, according to state officials, leaving some clubs like the VFW Post 1090 in Warren expressing outrage and frustration.
That club on High Street has racked up four smoking violations totaling $1,600 since enforcement began.
Despite a pitch during the 2006 election campaign to make the state smoke-free that smoking would remain permissible at private clubs, Ohio Department of Health spokesman Kristopher Weiss said this week that none of the 280,000 public places covered by Ohio's ban has been able to meet the stringent rules outlining a private club exemption.
''They just want to be left alone,'' said U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Post 1090 member Richard Harvey.
According to Harvey, the post just recently and grudgingly began directing its members to obey the law and smoke outside, but they're filing a brief with the city board of health arguing that they should be exempted as a private club as promised during the election. The post argues that the public is not allowed in the building, that there are no members younger than 18 and that employees are OK with smoking continuing.
In short: They feel cheated.
''Veterans organizations including the VFW were told that they would be exempt, which caused many of our membership of age not to bother to vote at all,'' the brief states.
The brief carries signatures from the post's membership and employees.
According to the Ohio exemption, private clubs must adhere to a number requirements such as having a nonprofit liquor permit, having a building that is not shared with another entity, requiring that only members be present in the building and that all members are older than 18. In addition, the club must have no employees - paid or unpaid, Weiss said. If a club has an employee, the smoking ban is in effect.
''Employee is defined as a person who provides any service regardless of whether they're compensated," Weiss said.
That means volunteers, or employees who are also club members, cannot exempt the club from the ban. According to Weiss, this requirement is written into the law itself, meaning that the committee charged with writing the rules of enforcement could not change it to offer exemptions for volunteers or member-employees.
"That would be overstepping our (the committee's) authority," Weiss said.
In June 2008, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected an appeal that would exempt veterans halls and other private clubs from the smoking ban. The decision let stand a ruling that said the Ohio Department of Health didn't have the authority to write rules exempting private clubs.
The ban passed with about 60 percent of the vote in 2006.
Harvey and Post Commander Jack Hilles said the ban was costing the post, but in more than fines. Hilles said this hurts the post's income as veterans decide to meet in other places that allow smoking. Harvey said the post donates about $40,000 a year to local charities and worried that the fines coupled with a loss of income could hurt that.
Still, both Warren's Deputy Health Director Bob Pinti and Weiss said enforcement was going smoothly since it began almost three years ago. Numbers from the state support this: Investigations, warnings and most fines have shown a downward trend in 2009 when compared to 2007 and 2008.
"I would say complaints slowed down drastically," Pinti said.
People report sightings of smoking violations by calling a state hotline. The state then sends the complaint to a local health agency to investigate. If the health worker finds smoking at the location, the owner of the building can face a warning or escalating fines. To date, the state has invoiced more than $1 million in fines, and has collected more than $400,000, according to figures from the state health department.
