By John Seewer
The Associated Press

TOLEDO - A cigarette and a night of bowling or eating out seemed to go hand-in-hand for years in this city.

Not anymore.

A smoking ban that is the state's toughest prohibits smoking in indoor public places with few exceptions. It's quite a change in a town that two years ago had the nation's highest number of smokers per capita, according to a government study.

Now anti-smoking advocates and public health leaders in other Ohio cities are hoping to follow Toledo's lead.

"You really could call it inspirational," said Wendy Leatherberry, a member of a Cleveland task force that is looking at toughening the city's smoking ordinance.

They are not alone.

Supporters of an indoor smoking ban in Dayton met with the City Commission for the first time this week to discuss a change in smoking in public places.

The issue also is being discussed in smaller towns in northwest Ohio, including Findlay and Wauseon.

"Seeing that Toledo had passed it through City Council has motivated some cities to move forward," said Tracy Sabetta, project director for Tobacco Free Ohio. "If Toledo can do this, we can do this around Ohio."

The state is fourth in the nation in the number of adult smokers, according to federal statistics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that found more than 31 percent of Toledo residents were smokers also placed Cleveland at fourth-highest in the country in terms of smokers.

Earlier this year, Cleveland Councilman Matthew Zone asked for a committee to look into changing the city's clean indoor air ordinance that requires separate smoking sections in restaurants.

Leatherberry said the general consensus of the task force is that the ordinance needs to be toughened.

"I really don't look at it as being anti-smoking," she said. "It's looking at public health."

Restaurant and bar owners don't see it that way.

They say they are the ones who are most likely to be affected by the smoking bans.

Joe Castellano, owner of Elinor's Amber Rose Restaurant in Dayton, said he understands there is a public health concern.

"But my feeling is, the less the government is trying to tell me how to run my business, the better," he said. "I'd hate to alienate a segment of my customers."

Ohio Restaurant Association President Charlie Blosser said he expects more cities to look at smoking bans.

"I would imagine there will be a few more cities," he said. "It all depends on the makeup of the city councils and how they feel about putting mandates on businesses."

Tracey Carson, a community organizer with the American Heart Association in Dayton, has been drumming up support for a ban since February.

"We really have been working to build a true, grass-roots movement," she said. "We think it makes it a true movement."