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STATE LEGISLATORS will trudge to Richmond this week dreading the billions of dollars in budget cuts they must make to schools, health care and other programs prized by their constituents.
But there is one item on their agenda that will make the folks back home smile, and it doesn't cost a thing.
A smoking ban in restaurants and bars enjoys broad public support. And clean, smoke-free air is not just free - it saves money in the long run by reducing health care costs.
A new study this month published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that smoke-free policies can reduce hospitalizations resulting from heart attacks.
The study of the health benefits from a Pueblo, Colo., ordinance found a 41 percent decline in the number of people hospitalized because of coronary problems. It adds to research from eight other studies with similar findings.
Smoking bans reduce nonsmokers' exposure to secondhand smoke. They also encourage smokers to give up a dangerous habit. Both factors contribute to the decline in heart attacks.
The reasons for passing a smoking ban in Virginia this year are piling up, and the momentum is with advocates for clean air. Last year, a six-member House subcommittee killed several smoking-ban bills, preventing the other 94 delegates from having a say in the matter.
This year, new rules require subcommittees to take recorded votes. Suffolk Del. Chris Jones, the new chairman of the House General Laws Committee, which handles smoking issues, has promised a full and fair hearing on the issue.
Sen. Ralph Northam of Norfolk is ready to press forward again this year with his smoking-ban bill, and he once again has the support of Gov. Tim Kaine.
Legislators can't shield their constituents from this year's economic gloom, but they can give them a breath of fresh air.
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Not the kids again
Jason,(Sorry about your dad) Those restaurants are not encouraging smoking.They are merely allowing it,just as they do for a whole host of other supposedly "harmful" activities which may supposedly "kill".Just going there contributes to very many deaths.So called tobacco control is the main entity that is currently causing smoking rates to be higher.(among other things) Going by your comments,I suppose that you should be against them.Playing the child card is useless.You'd have to put the kid in a bubble to protect him/her.Unfortunately this would harm the child.They need to be exposed to harmful things in order for their immune systems to develop.Don't give them antibiotics though,its supposed to be a "major" cause of asthma.Exposure to shs/ets lowers their risk of this.
Restaurants hould be smoking or non smoking
If the ban does not pass, a restaurant should not be allowed to have a "non-smoking" section. A place should be required to have a large sign saying whether or not smoking is or is not allowed. There is a lot of puffery in allowing people to make their own choices, but without adequate information people cannot make good choices. Maybe smoking or non smoking should be listed in ads and coupons.
ptownbc won't give up
Forgive me for being so logical and also having some hope that perhaps humans will eventually use their heads for something other than a place to put their baseball caps on backwards, but anytime I see people trying to cause themselves and others harm I feel compelled to speak out. There are several restaurants that I have enjoyed in the past but cannot patronize now - including the Village Inn on Independence Blvd - because they encourage smoking and I will not subject a young child to any more hazards than I have to. My father was a chain smoker and it killed him, and the secondary smoke effects will probably put me in the dirt before my time. My question to you is: why are you compelled to defend drug addicts and their desire to kill themselves and others around them?
Let's try this...
Let's pretend that the restaurants that allow smoking smelled like feces. Would you folks still want to eat there? No? Of course not, who would want to eat there? Don't strain your brains too much, but try to pretend the smokey restaurant smells stinky, and don't eat there. I know, I'm a genius!
A smoking ban in restaurants and bars for Virginia
Here we go again Governor Timothy M. Kaine is talking out of both sides of his face. First he wants to impose what I would call a penalty tax on smokers, an increase of 30 cents per pack to increase revenue for the state. OK I can deal with that, as a smoker I might not like the idea but can deal with it. But then within a week’s time our great Governor comes out and wants to ban smoking in public places. If you have read the house bill 1704 it will no be passed because some idiot put in the following article, “"Workplace" Every vehicle that constitutes a workplace under this article shall have at least one conspicuous sign, visible from the exterior of the vehicle, clearly stating that smoking is prohibited “” once make a private company put up notices’ on their personal business vehicles because a business doesn’t want more regulations imposed on them. And let’s not forget that it is election year again and the lobbyist at knocking at the door with their check books open. Go figure, that's politics.
Glad to See Progress on this Important Issue
This is a compelling and polemical issue that clearly tests the ability of our state government to ‘do the right thing’. I am a 40-year-old male ex-smoker. I feel compelled to communicate my views. The smokers are clearly on the wrong side of this issue for a variety of reasons.
There are few things more annoying than some inconsiderate smoker lighting up at the next table. When dining out, my family must breathe second hand cigarette smoke that quickly cascades from the ‘smoking section’. I do not contest that people have a right to smoke, however that right ends where it begins to impact my family’s health and enjoyment. I don’t mind people smoking as long as they don’t exhale. A smoker’s right to smoke should not come at my expense.
Speaking of expenses, according to the Center for Smoking Cessation (Virginia Facts, 7-1-2005), there are 22.1% of our population that are smokers. There are more than 200,000 Medicaid Smokers in Virginia. The Virginia taxpayer bill for Smoking Attributable Direct Medical Expenses is a whopping $1,629 million. Meantime the tax on a pack of cigarettes is only 30 cents (Virginia ranks 45 in the United States), wel
Jason...
I guess part of the problem is that I believe that people are going to do what they want no matter what the law says. If you have been to college you probably know that there was never a shortage of marijuana around, and yes, I believe it should be legalized. That means that one should be able to smoke it in a restaurant which allows it. I also believe that a ten year old should not drink alcohol, but what type of parent allows a kid to sit at a bar and drink? That is a ridiculous argument. Ask any sixteen year old kid, and they'll tell you it's really not that hard to get beer if they want it bad enough. I just don't understand why we, as Americans, are so quick to give up rights... NOT SMOKER'S RIGHTS, but the rights of private establishments. We won't outlaw strip clubs, but we'll require nipple coverage. We won't outlaw alcohol, but marijuana is evil. We are inconsistent at best and idiotic at worst. Jason, you still have not answered this question. Why do you want to eat at a restaurant which allows smoking if you hate it so much?
Vince, Vince, Vince
I don't dispute that a restaurant is a private business, but surely you see the distinction between a private business open to the public and the type of privacy one enjoys in their residence. Smoking is banned in a host of private businesses already in Virginia, yet you are free to allow smoking in your home. Smoking is banned in restaurants in numerous states all across the USA, and hopefully Virginia will be in that group soon. There is ZERO RELATIONSHIP between the power and control of the Supreme Court and the freedom of states to ban smoking in restaurants, where it is a nuisance and danger to both the employees and the customers.
ptwonbc
How short-sighted; can you walk into a restaurant and smoke marijuana? No? Why not? By your standards, anyone should be able to. Can a ten-year old person buy alcohol? No? Why not? By your standards they should. I guess we should just de-regulate everything and let everybody do whatever they want, where ever they want at anytime no matter what harm may befall anybody. Until the human gene develops a strong common sense organ for every single person born, we will need rules, regulations and laws to govern ther behavior of those who either have no cognizent reasoning ability, or are too addled by mind-altering substances to be trusted for reasoning judgement.
Actually...no
These are private businesses.The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a private business does not become public simply because the public is invited in.