The smoke that people endure while at bars and restaurants in Toledo will soon be nonexistent, due to a recent smoking ban passed by Toledo City Council July 8.

The ban, though similar to the one Bowling Green passed in 2001, is different in that it goes beyond restaurants to include bars that are more than 245-square-feet. Smaller bars, private clubs and catered private events are exempt from this ban, according to reports from the Toledo Blade.

The ordinance will take effect sometime later this month. The ban is meant to serve as a way to make the workplace better and should have good results, according to business employees at some Bowling Green restaurants.

Another similarity to the Bowling Green ban is that the Toledo law will let restaurants section off separate, ventilated smoking rooms, according to an article in the Toledo Blade.

Nikki Creighton, a junior at the University and a waitress/bartender at Fricker’s Sports Bar by the I-75 bridge, thinks the ban will be good for business.

“It’s harder for the servers when there is a separate room for smoking, with the doors and everything, but it is better for the customers.” Creighton said.

Keith McCrea, legislative director of Toledo city council, said this ban is meant to focus on a safer working environment for the employees.

“We wouldn’t let employees work in a place where asbestos was present, so why should we have them work in a place where they have to constantly take in second hand smoke,” McCrea said. “For the most part people can choose to go to bars or restaurants but they cannot always choose their jobs.”

McCrea said this is a way to make the workplace safer and more enjoyable for the employees at these establishments.

Kelly Appelhans, also a employee at Frickers Sports Bar, said that the ban is good for families who come into the restaurants.

“Many families do not like to take their kids to places where there is a lot of smoking,” Appelhans said.

Brooke Alabaugh, a recent University graduate and an employee at Waffle House, agrees with Appelhans and thinks that this ban will make it better for families who go out with their kids.

“I had a family come in before with five kids and ask where the non-smoking sections was,” Alabaugh said. “And they were so please when I told them the whole place was non-smoking.”

Once people in Bowling Green got accustomed to the ban, there was no problem, Alabaugh said.

The thing that is different about the smoking ban in Toledo is that it applies to bars as well as restaurants. However, it only applies to bars that are over 245-square-feet.