On Thursday representatives of The Academy of Medicine Cleveland/Northern Ohio Medical Association were in attendance at a scheduled news conference of SmokeFreeOhio for the pronouncement they had acquired enough petition signatures to incite the legislature to consider a prohibitive ban on smoking in workplaces statewide. Past-President Ronald A. Savrin, MD addressed those gathered, sharing statistics related to coronary heart disease and stroke in terms of the consequences of second-hand smoke. “There are so many causes of disease we cannot control,” he said, “this is one we can.” AMC/NOMA member physicians Dr. Derek Raghavan of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Dr. Michael Nochomovitz of University Hospitals Health System presented on behalf of their institutions as well. The AMC/NOMA was introduced as a “significant partner” to the campaign, as it was announced that an advisory committee will be assembled (including the AMC/NOMA) to begin work on getting the initiative passed. More than 150,000 signatures from all 88 Ohio counties were submitted to the Secretary of State’s office Thursday—a symbolic gesture which coincides with the nationally-designated Great American Smoke Out Day of Nov. 17. Also, UHHS marked the day with its official kick-off of going smoke-free in all its facilities. The event was held at HealthSpace Cleveland, and was likewise attended by officials from the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association of Ohio, American Heart Association and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. Visit http://www.smokefreeohio.org/oh/ for more information.