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Smoke Free Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) --  A coalition of health, business and community leaders says it will work for a ban on smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars, in Columbus and eventually its suburbs.

The SmokeFree Columbus Coalition on Tuesday cited Toledo as an example of what can be accomplished. The northwest Ohio city has banned smoking in eating and drinking establishments, among other settings.

However, bar and restaurant owners in Toledo have filed a suit to stop the law, which they say has cut into their business since it took effect in late August. The Columbus coalition has applied for a $418,000 grant to pay for its work, including the salary of a full-time coordinator.

The group has had preliminary talks with Columbus City Council members and Mayor Michael Coleman, who hold the key to a citywide smoking ban. Last year, the Ohio Supreme Court declared that local health boards can't issue such rules.

Leading the coalition are Marie Collart, president and chief executive of the Central Ohio Breathing Association; Dr. Rob Crane, president and founder of the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, and Bishop Timothy Clarke of the First Church of God.

Forty businesses, agencies and other groups have signed on and the list grows daily, Collart said. The coalition is promising a "slow, deliberate" process to educate city residents, business owners and politicians about the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Crane said the Toledo council members who passed the smoking ban are pioneers. "In a blue-collar, very hard-working, hard-bitten town sometimes, it's a magnificent job they've done," he said. Crane said manufacturing plants, bingo parlors and bowling centers also should be smokeless. "We're not talking about excluding smokers," Crane said. "It's only the smoke which is the problem. We just need to have them smoke outside."