My daughter had an asthma attack the other morning. We checked her peak flow, gave her the inhaler, checked her peak flow again, and sent her to summer school. She'll be OK, probably.

One of our favorite family stops is a local wings place. It is inexpensive, fast, and the kids love to part with their hard-earned birthday card money and play arcade games. Mom and Dad like the games, too. While the kids are entertained, we can actually converse and pretend we are on a date.

The wings place is a smoky environment. Despite the sign that says smoke-free in a small area of the restaurant/bar, the bleed-over from the bar and the location of the games make it impossible to avoid the second-hand smoke.

Our choices are limited. Only a few establishments (thank you, LaRosa's and Applebee's) are entirely smoke-free. But succumbing to a craving for teriyaki wings, we decided to "eat fast" and get out. We sat in the designated, disproportionately smaller non-smoking area. Despite our best strategies, smoke somehow made it into our teenager's lungs. The bronchioles became irritated and then her coughing started. She complained that her chest was tight and we began the medication process. The asthma was still lingering this morning.

I hear you. You're telling me that we should be more careful. We should avoid exposing our child to the dangers of smoke. OK, so we add the wings place to our growing list of places to avoid. Already on the list is the Cincinnati Zoo (smoking is allowed even near the endangered species), Kings Island, Great American Ball Park ... you see where this is going, don't you? We can't even walk into a retail store safely because on the way in we have to pass the customers and employees who need a fix.

Here's the fix: a smoke-free Ohio. If kids under 18 can't buy tobacco, they shouldn't have to be exposed to its hazards. Establishments who have "families" as their target market should be smoke-free!

A liberal may say, "We can't have the government taking away our rights!"

And a conservative may say, "We need the tobacco revenue!"

When my daughter can muster her breath, she may just suggest, "Blow it out your peak flow!"

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Debbie Coleman is a mother of three. She holds her MBA from Loyola College Baltimore, and is a part-time instructor at Miami Hamilton. She resides in Symmes Township.