The Virginian-Pilot
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The best way to protect Virginia workers and consumers from the health risks associated with second-hand smoke is to ban smoking from the state’s restaurants, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said today.
Kaine called for the statewide ban during a morning press conference at Hot Tuna Bar & Grill in Virginia Beach. The ban would affect private and public clubs where food is served. Businesses could still allow a smoking section outdoors, unless the exterior area can be enclosed.
Joining the governor in support of the ban were members of the Hampton Roads Mayors and Chairs Caucus, the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association and the General Assembly, and public health advocates.
“The scientific evidence about the health risks associated with exposure to secondhand smoke is clear and convincing,” Kaine said in a written statement.
Secondhand smoke is responsible for 1,700 deaths per year, according to the state Department of Health. The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that the commonwealth spends $124.9 million a year on health care expenditures related to secondhand smoke exposure.
A similar push for a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants failed last year.
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I'll be laughing!
"The end does not justify the means. No one's rights can be secured by the violation of the rights of others."--Ayn Rand, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal Oh, and by the way, this is not a democracy, it is a republic,,,look it up! And to all of those that want to take away the rights of smokers, well, it will eventually come to pass that your rights will be taken away also. I'll be one of the first to point, laugh, and say "I told you so!" Keep running back to the burning barn, sheep!
Get over yourself...
...You are not as smart as you think silcnlayc...
It's happening right in front of you..
We have hesitated until recently to use words like dictatorship and fascism in relation to the Bush administration. But the signs are now too :Is Bush turning America into an elective dictatorship?
The Power-Madness of King GeorgeIs Bush turning America into an elective dictatorship? ... Bush's message to the courts, The shadow of dictatorship: Bush established secret government after September 11 ... the foundation on which the Bush administration has . Yep, the government is loving all you people who think it's ok to force others into doing what you think is right. Slowy allowing our freedoms to diminish...These have all been headlines in the last 6 years..don't any of you really read the news?? Or are all your heads in the sand and you follow like sheep?
My 2 cents
The proposal would rob "business owners" of their rights. It is not talking specifically about the individual's right to smoke or not.
I choose not to smoke or be around it, but I do not presume to speak for everyone so I would prefer others not to be so cavalier about or with my freedoms.
When you legislate smoking as a "health" issue, what's next?
politics gone right
I can't believe all the local hillbillies and militiamen decrying the loss of their freedoms. Wake up and smell your smoke! This is happening because the vast majority of the the local citizens want it. This is called democracy in action, my friends.
Let's get it straight
No one is robbing anyone of thier freedom or freedom of choice. No one is saying you can't smoke. They are saying you can't blow your smoke in an area where others have to inhale it. No one complains about having to go to the bathroom to pee. They don't pee on others. Same thing should be done with smoking. Go some place where you don't blow smoke on someone else. I used to be a smoker for 30 years. I understand how a smoker feels. If someone asked me not to blow my smoke around them I put it out or went somewhere else. Now the Majority is saying no smoking in bars and resturant. Whats the problem!!! Go outside, do your smoking (just like going to the bathroom) then come back in, or go somewhere else. Stop crying about people taking your freedom. Go to other countries where they don't have any freedom and maybe you will understand (and appreciate) what real freedom is!!!!
Can't Please Everybody
I know 53,000 people die each year in the U.S. because of secondhand smoke. I know people yelled when they couldn't smoke on airplanes. Did that stop people from flying? No, it has only increased. How does it feel to know you may be killing a restaurant employee because of your smoking? They may only have one skill and work at a restaurant. How about our health care costs. Secondhand smoking increases those costs as well. I just want to know one positive benefit to smoking for everyone? I grew up around parents that smoked a lot. I never smoked and neither did my other 3 siblings. When I hung out at bars years ago the funniest comment I heard were the smokers complaining about the pipe and cigar smokers. Gov. Kaine can't please everyone with this proposal but it's the right thing to do. 28 states can't be wrong that have already passed the bill and haven't changed it. Sorry smokers, but times have changed. At least agree it's better for our children if anything.
Great!
I'm thrilled with Governor Kaine's plan for Virginia restaurants to go non-smoking. SO many other states have realized that this is an important issue, and it benefits so many Virginia citizens. My husband and I enjoy going out to socialize with friends and co-workers. We try to find an area away from smokers, but usually one or two chain smokers sit near us and blow their smoke in our direction. Sometimes, I get the feeling that it's a power thing. The other states that have gone non-smoking have many positive things to say about it, and have not lost any business. Great plan Governor Kaine.
FlipFloppin Kaine?
On Oct 26, 2006 Kaine said: Kaine said again Thursday that he does not support legislation that would ban smoking in private businesses, saying that would be a troubling expansion of government regulation.
“I don’t think the police power of the state should go that far,” he told reporters.
How ironic.
The issue mostly is NOT about patrons
It's about employees. Some people cannot go "elsewhere" as many of you self proclaimed rhodes scholars have stated, because they can't get a job elsewhere. Suck it up (seriously) and take that garbage outside.