Where Nobody May Smoke
ORC 3794.02 — every public place and place of employment, and the short list the chapter does not reach
Ohio's smoking ban came from the voters rather than the legislature, and it is written broadly on purpose. The rule is not a list of places where smoking is prohibited. It is a prohibition on every public place and place of employment, with a short list of places the chapter does not regulate at all.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio Department of Health, Smoke Free Workplace Program; and legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
The proprietor does not permit it, and keeps the smoke out. No proprietor of a public place or place of employment, except as the chapter permits, permits smoking in the public place or place of employment, or in the areas directly or indirectly under the proprietor's control immediately adjacent to locations of ingress or egress. The proprietor also ensures that tobacco smoke does not enter any area where smoking is prohibited through entrances, windows, ventilation systems or other means.
The sign is a requirement, not a courtesy. No smoking signs, or the international no smoking symbol of a burning cigarette in a red circle with a red bar across it, are conspicuously posted in every public place and place of employment where smoking is prohibited, including at each entrance.
A private home is outside the chapter, until it is a workplace. Private residences are exempt, except during the hours of operation as a child care or adult care facility for compensation, during the hours of operation as a business by a person other than a resident, or during the hours of operation as a business when employees who are not residents and not related to the owner are present.
Sleeping rooms in hotels, motels and other lodging designated as smoking rooms are also outside the chapter, provided not more than twenty percent of the sleeping rooms are so designated, and so are retail tobacco stores that were in operation before the seventh of December 2006.
| The place | Under the chapter |
|---|---|
| The placeA bar, restaurant, shop or office | Under the chapterSmoking is not permitted, and signs are posted |
| The placeThe area just outside the door, under the proprietor's control | Under the chapterThe same prohibition |
| The placeA private home, ordinarily | Under the chapterNot regulated |
| The placeA private home operating as a business with non resident employees present | Under the chapterRegulated during those hours |
| The placeA designated hotel smoking room | Under the chapterNot regulated, up to twenty percent of the rooms |
| The placeA retail tobacco store open before the seventh of December 2006 | Under the chapterNot regulated |
The other exemptions the chapter lists, the enforcement process and its escalating fines, the treatment of electronic cigarettes under local ordinances, and outdoor patios are each outside this page. The Ohio Department of Health administers the program and takes complaints, and whether a particular room or patio is inside the chapter is a question of fact the department and, where it matters, a licensed Ohio attorney answer.
Sources for this section (2)
- ORC 3794.02 — Smoking prohibitions in public places and places of employment
- ORC 3794.03 — Areas where smoking is not regulated by the chapter
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.