Starting May 5, 2023, Lake County General Health District is offering free updated Ohio Smoke Free Workplace signage and/or education to Lake County businesses. “Ohio’s original Smoke Free Workplace Law was updated in 2021 to prohibit e-cigarette use in indoor public areas; but Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has noted that the change in the law is not well-known, so we’re being charged to assist with educating an estimated 280,000 Ohio businesses on the law,” commented Emily Kolacz, Health Educator at Lake County General Health District. Part of the education will include adopting ODH’s social media campaign on the topic.
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
Flavorings are also a largely unrecognized potential hazard of e-cigarettes. Diacetyl and acetyl propionyl are present in many of the sweet-flavored juices and pods used in e-cigarettes. While they are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for food use (ingestion), but have not been evaluated or approved for heating and inhalation, and are associated with respiratory disease when inhaled.
“E-cigarettes are advertised as a ‘less harmful’ alternative to smoking,” continued Kolacz. “In reality, they are as dangerous as cigarettes. Those who use e-cigarettes should seriously consider how their exhaled aerosol could negatively affect those around them. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke or aerosol.”
Lake County businesses should call Emily Kolacz at 440-350-2451 for more information. Violations of the smoking/e-cigarette ban should be reported to ODH by calling 1-866-559-OHIO (1-866-559-6446). Individuals interested in quitting e-cigarettes may call the Ohio Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669), or visit their website at https://ohio.quitlogix.org/en-US/.
