Since the smoking ban first went into place in October, the dust has settled around the initial owner and patron reactions.  The Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department has also decided to initiate a comprehensive blitz on area businesses to make sure the ban is being upheld, along with inviting establishments to approach them with their ideas for outdoor smoking facilities.

            “We did a blitz recently where all our sanitarians were out, and we were out late,” says Tim Miller, environmental health director at the health department.  “We didn’t start until 9 o’clock, and then we were out until 2 a.m.”

            The sanitarians that were out canvassed 76 establishments in Wood County, and during their surveys, they only issued six warnings for the evening. 

            “Overall, it’s going very well,” Miller says of the complete roll-out of the smoking ban. “People are complying.”