
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 30, 1994                   TAG: 9401300137
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: CINCINNATI                                LENGTH: Short

BLOWING CIGAR SMOKE MAY BE RULED A BATTERY

An Ohio court ruled that cigar smoke can be more than a nuisance - it can be used to commit battery.

The 1st Ohio District Court of Appeals reinstated an anti-smoking activist's lawsuit against a radio station and two of its personalities.

The case began in November 1990, when WLW-AM broadcaster Andy Furman smoked a cigar in a studio while plaintiff Ahron Leichtman was being interviewed. Leichtman is the volunteer executive director of Citizens for a Tobacco-free Society, which has offices nationwide.

The appeals court ruled Wednesday that Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Ralph Winkler erred in dismissing Leichtman's battery claim, and sent the lawsuit back to Winkler.

The court said tobacco smoke could cause battery because it was within the Ohio Supreme Court's "offensive contact" definition. - Associated Press

by CNB