You can smoke in most parts of Athens free of charge.
But you’ll be fined $50 if you light up in a park, city parking lot or throw cigarette butts on city sidewalks or streets.
You can smoke in most parts of Athens free of charge.
But you’ll be fined $50 if you light up in a park, city parking lot or throw cigarette butts on city sidewalks or streets.
The fines will start Jan. 1; Ohio University’s ban on tobacco products will begin Fall Semester 2015.
The city’s law includes the prohibition of the “use of any form of tobacco … including inhaling, exhaling, burning or carrying any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, other lighted smoking device or papers for burning tobacco, or any other plant, chewing tobacco, snuff, or any other matter or substances that contain tobacco” at city-owned recreational properties.
The law does not include the use of electronic cigarettes yet, but council members are considering including them in future revisions.
Councilman Steve Patterson, D-at large, began work on the law in mid-October and saw it through until its adoption at Monday night’s Athens City Council meeting.
“I’ve done a lot of digging into other cities in Ohio to find out that there are only three other cities in Ohio that have tobacco-free city parks,” Patterson said. “So, that’s when we really started pushing forward saying lets just, let’s do this. It’s important for us to do.”
Other cities in Ohio with smoke-free parks laws include Strongsville and Sylvania, said Councilwoman Jennifer Cochran, D-at large, who also played a large role in crafting the ordinance.
Patterson said there are even similar rules that have been passed in Athens County.
“The county commissioners in 2011 or 2010, I believe, passed a resolution … to have the three county parks become smoke free as well,” Patterson said.
Councilmembers were concerned, though, with the effects of OU’s campuswide tobacco ban.
“Knowing that Ohio University’s going tobacco-free in … 2015-2016 also raised a lot of concerns, because what is that going to mean for the smokers on campus? Where are they going to go?” Patterson said. “Where they really would go is on the public right of way.”
Patterson said the city is working to acquire cigarette butt bins for high-traffic areas Uptown.
“There will be 40 cigarette butt bins going up over the next year … up and down Court Street,” Patterson said.
Cochran, on the other hand, didn’t share his concern about student smokers.
“People have adapted, and they will adapt to the new policies and laws that make the Ohio University campus and our city parks smoke-free,” Cochran said. “If people make the choice to smoke they need to find an appropriate place to place their toxic cigarette butts. We’re all neighbors here so let’s all keep our campus and our city clean.”
@emilybohatch
eb346012@ohio.edu
