Ohio court ruling should butt out

Why should anyone be allowed to take part in an action that leads to the severe illness, and even the eventual death, of others? Local health boards should be afforded the authority to ban smoking in all public places, including bars and restaurants. \nOhio courts recently decided that local health boards do not have this authority.\nThe court affirmed that state law does not allow them to overrule the legislature, which exempted bars and restaurants from smoking bans.\nWhen you stop in one of the many wonderful restaurants in Bloomington, you are most likely there for the food. Most of the exotic locales generally do not have the ability to create well-ventilated "smoking" areas. Thus non-smokers are forced to inhale smoke from tobacco products, which drastically alters (for the worse) the fresh aromas seeping from the kitchen.\nThe 191 member states of the World Health Organization will consider a draft treaty dealing with tobacco smoke in public places next month in Geneva. The treaty aims to provide protection from exposure to tobacco smoke and to end promotion and sponsorship of sporting and cultural events.\n"Deaths caused by smoking are six times higher than the 20,170 deaths arising from: Road accidents (3,444); poisoning and overdose (2,663); other accidental deaths (8,986); murder and manslaughter (503); suicide (4,379); and HIV infection (195) in the UK during 1998.\nWorld-wide, about four million die prematurely each year as a result of smoking. Based on current trends, this will rise to 10 million a year by 2030, according to the Action on Smoking and Health Fact Sheet.\nThese numbers will continue to rise until some radical action is taken. The old saying, "You can swing your fist until it runs into the tip of someone's nose" says it all. Smoking in your own home is not harming anyone, but you. But when you are around other human beings, animals and the environment -- you have infringed on the rights of others.\nThe Ohio Supreme Court's ruling is unjust and should be challenged. Hopefully, our state Supreme Court will not follow its lead and will help protect the inhabitants of Indiana from the dangers of tobacco smoke.