Butler County sixth in state for smoking-related complaints

Restaurants and bars have racked up more than $3.6 million in fines from the Ohio Health Department for violating the state’s smoking laws, and some of the most frequent offenders operate in southwest Ohio.
Ohio passed the Smoke Free Workplace Act, which prohibits smoking cigarettes in public spaces and workplaces, in 2006.
Since 2011, the Ohio Division of Liquor Control has rejected liquor license renewals for 12 bars across the state because the establishments’ owners had repeatedly failed to pay smoking-related fines for violating the law to the Ohio Department of Health.
Two of those 12 bars sit in Butler County: Froggy Blues Cafe in Monroe has amassed $36,600 in smoking fines and Cobblestone Tavern in Fairfield has generated $24,100 since the state department began issuing fines in 2007, according to state records.
‘We have some teeth’
Most of the smoking fines establishments across Ohio owe to the department remain unpaid. The state has only collected $807,600, or one-quarter, of the $3.6 million owed. But once officials from the Department of Liquor got involved by rejecting the liquor licenses of those indebted to the department of health, some repeat offenders, including the Froggy Blues Cafe and Cobblestone Tavern, started to pay up.
“We have some teeth now with the ability to revoke or not renew liquor licenses,” Tessie Pollock, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health said.
Establishments will get a warning letter the first time they are caught violating the Smoke Free Workplace Act. Subsequent violations can mean fines ranging from $100 to $2,500.
After 58 smoking complaints and $24,100 worth of fines, the liquor control notified Rick Sizemore, the owner of Cobblestone Tavern, that his license wouldn’t be renewed last month. Sizemore then started working out a payment plan to get the department of health the money it’s owed, his attorney said.With interest and attorney fees, the amount he’ll have to pay as a result of smoking violations will total closer to $30,000, his lawyer added. Sizemore’s paid off nearly $5,000 of his fines.
“I’m working with my attorney to resolve the situation,” Sizemore said. “I’m definitely in compliance now.”
Sizemore’s Columbus-based attorney, Kurt Gearhiser, said he has some clients who “dwarf” Sizemore’s fines. Some bar owners Gearhiser represents owe $50,000 or more to the Department of Health, he said.
Froggy Blues Cafe had its liquor license yanked in December of last year, an official with the Liquor Control said. After an appeal in February to the state’s Liquor Control Commission, the license was reinstated and the cafe’s owner worked out a payment plan. The cafe has paid down more than $12,000 on the $36,600 bill, according to state records.
The owner of the Froggy Blues Cafe could not be reached to comment for this story.
Even with the threat of hefty fines, enforcement of the no-smoking law can be difficult at times, one bar owner said.
Carol Stephens, who owns Carol’s Speakeasy in Warren County, has paid $1,100 worth of fines over 22 complaints. She said she does everything she can to comply with the law.
“When the bar is packed there’s not a lot you can do about it,” she said. “We tell them to put it out but you can’t call (police) every time somebody lights a cigarette. We discourage it, we tell them not to, but that doesn’t mean they pay attention.”