Deal puts smoking ban in restaurants on path to passage

RICHMOND

A statewide ban on smoking in most restaurants and bars cleared a major legislative hurdle Thursday and appears likely to pass the General Assembly this winter.

The measure would outlaw smoking in all restaurants and bars with the exception of eateries that build enclosed areas with separate ventilation systems for smokers. Also exempt would be private clubs.

The bill was approved by a 16-to-6 vote in the House General Laws Committee, longtime cemetery for anti-smoking legislation, only hours after the bill was introduced.

The bill, HB1703, reflects a major compromise between Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat who for three years has called for an outright restaurant smoking ban to protect health, and Speaker William Howell, a Republican who had insisted that government allow restaurant owners to decide whether it is in their business interests to let patrons light up.

During the past two years, smoking bans have been approved in the Senate but killed in the House, where Howell and other GOP leaders have blocked their passage.

During a lively two-hour hearing before House panel, many activists for and against smoking rights found plenty to dislike about the bill.

Anti-smoking advocates said the measure has glaring loopholes that would render it ineffective in protecting health. They said a proposed $25 fine for violating the law is hardly ample to compel restaurant owners to build expensive, separately ventilated, enclosed rooms for smoking.

The bill offers no relief for restaurant workers, who could be required against their wishes to work in smoking rooms, prompting the American Cancer Society to oppose it.

"This bill does not protect me," said Alie Jo Kuitek, a Richmond bartender who does not smoke. "Other people who choose to smoke should not impact my decision to lead a healthy lifestyle."

Del. Clarence Phillips, R-Dickenson, denounced the bill as a "farce" designed to remove smoking as an issue this fall when all 140 House seats are up for election.

Several small restaurant owners complained that the high cost of building separately ventilated rooms would force them to ban smoking and cause a steep loss in business.

"Eighty percent of my customers smoke," said Randy Estenson, owner of Poppa's Pub in Virginia Beach. "They can't smoke, they don't come."

They argued the requirement would put them at a competitive disadvantage with chain restaurants that could easily afford to build smoking rooms.

"This is not about public health," said Tom Lisk, a lobbyist for the Virginia Retail Merchants Association. "This is about government injecting itself into competing businesses and determining winners and losers."

The bill was endorsed by the Medical Society of Virginia, the Virginia Nursing Association and a number of local government official from around the state.

"It would allow tremendous strides not only in reducing the number of deaths from secondhand smoke, but also from the diseases and illnesses that come from smoke exposure," said Dr. Sterling Reeves, a past president of the state's medical society.

Twenty-three states have smoking bans. Virginia, whose economy was founded on tobacco, has long resisted following suit. The efforts have been opposed by two powerful interests based in Richmond - Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette manufacturer and its corporate parent, Altria.

Speaker Howell, during a morning news conference with the governor, would not explain what changed his opposition to a smoking ban.

The issue may have become particularly sensitive to Republicans in fall elections that place the partisan control of the chamber in doubt. Anti-smoking groups said polls indicated 75 percent of Virginians favored a ban.

Howell, asked if politics prompted his change of heart, smiled and said in an exaggerated voice, "No."

The bill - carried by Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake - will be considered by the full House of Delegates early next week.

A nearly identical measure - SB1105 - has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk.

David Sutton, an Altria spokesman, criticized the agreement as a government infringement on business.

"We continue to believe the business owners of restaurants and bars are most familiar with how to accommodate the needs of their patrons," he said. "They should have the opportunity and flexibility to determine their own smoking policy, and then the public can chose whether or not to frequent places where smoking is permitted."

Kaine, while acknowledging the legislation is far from perfect, called it a "dramatic, dramatic advance for health."

Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com