More General Assembly newsRICHMOND
Virginia, whose economy relied on tobacco for almost four centuries, will ban smoking in most restaurants and bars.
The General Assembly on Thursday passed historic legislation that, come December, will outlaw lighting up inside eateries unless they have an enclosed smoking room with independent air ventilation. The bill allows smoking in open-air outdoor patios and at private clubs.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who unsuccessfully pushed for smoking bans in each of the last two years, said he expects to sign the bill next month in the "quickest drying ink I can find."
After two weeks of intense debate, the legislation passed without discussion on votes of 27-13 in the Senate and 60-39 in the House. Many lawmakers said there was an overwhelming public support for the ban.
"We gave our constituents what they demanded," said Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake. "That's our job up here."
Three South Hampton Roads delegates played vital roles in passing the legislation. Cosgrove introduced a House bill for the ban, HB1703. Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, authored a Senate bill, SB1105, which won approval Thursday.
Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, ran the bill past a legislative hurdle that tripped up previous efforts to ban smoking. In each of the past two years, similar bills passed the Senate only to be killed in the House without a recorded vote by a six-member subcommittee. Jones, who this year became chairman of the House General Laws Committee that oversees the bill, bypassed the unfriendly panel.
Virginia will join 23 states that outlaw smoking in restaurants. Owners and diners who violate the ban will face a $25 fine.
The bill was a compromise between health advocates who wanted an unconditional restaurant smoking ban and conservatives who held that restaurant owners should be allowed to decide whether it is in their business interests to ban smoking.
Anti-smoking groups praised the compromise, noting that most restaurant owners already bar smoking and, among those that don't, many will not want to pay to enclose and ventilate a room for puffing.
Under the legislation, restaurant workers cannot be required to work in smoking rooms against their will.
Deborah Bryan, regional vice president for the American Lung Association, called the bill "a huge step forward" for Virginia.
The ban was strongly opposed by Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette producer, and its corporate parent, Altria. Both corporations are headquartered in metropolitan Richmond.
Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Altria, said the legislation is "effectively a complete ban on smoking."
"It's important to highlight the fact that every restaurant in Virginia now has the right to restrict smoking on its own and some have done so," Phelps said.
The House last week passed a watered-down version of the bill that allowed smoking in any room that was separated by a door from the rest of a restaurant. The Senate insisted on stronger legislation. Negotiators from the two chambers rejected most of the House provisions, however, and there was no effort by delegates to restore them on Thursday.
"The one thing I learned in politics is, don't get in front of a train when it's coming down the track," said Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, who voted against the legislation.
Cosgrove rejected contentions that allowing smoking is a business decision for restaurant owners.
"Every restaurant is regulated now: They have a business license, they have an alcohol license, they have department of health regulations. The nanny-ism argument is spurious. Some people say it's a property-rights issue. People said the same thing when they didn't want to integrate their restaurants."
Unusual bipartisan cooperation between Kaine, a Democrat, and Republican Speaker William Howell of Stafford helped the bill pass. The two appeared jointly at a news conference last week urging the ban.
For Kaine, the ban may be an answer to critics who say he has not established a legacy as governor.
"This is a good bill,"
Kaine said. " This is one of those things we can do most easily that will promote health."
While acknowledging tobacco's historic role in Virginia, proponents of the legislation said a new day has dawned.
"Our economy has changed," Cosgrove said. "We have ports and military and technology in Virginia. While tobacco is a legal product, it also has a fairly potent drug: nicotine."
Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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I believe the context of the
I believe the context of the subject was whether or not banning smoking affected business, not whether or not someone has the right to smoke in their establishment.
Many resturants are leased
Many resturants are leased buildings. What if the landlord said there will be no smoking in their building?
If a non-smoker can choose not to eat at a smoking resturant despite the fact they love the food, then I guess the tenant who wants smoking in his returant can choose to give up that prime location that they dreamt about and open their resturant somewhere else. Freedom of choice...and stupidity.
It's his choice for now
"Not necessarily, I know owners who allow smoking just so they themselves can smoke in their restaurant."
If it was my bar or restaurant and I wanted to smoke I would. That's the way it should be. This is all about choices and options, and the government needs to butt out.
"If banning smoking was that
"If banning smoking was that great for business, would they already have done it voluntarily?"
Not necessarily, I know owners who allow smoking just so they themselves can smoke in their restaurant.
my wild imagination??????
And this coming from a person who thinks smoking should be banned everywhere, because you can smell it when you pull up next to a car at a stop light. Please!
gertzpoint
I am interested to know exactly where you got your facts to back up these ridiculous "majority" claims. I think you have a wild imagination, my friend.
is the majority right?
Just because the so called majority wants a smoking ban doesn't make it right. The majority has been proven wrong many, many times. It was the majority that did not want racial integration, it is the majority that thinks homosexuals should be shipped off to some remote island, and it was the majority that elected George W. Bush to 2 terms as president.
I'm not impressed with "majority".
batgeek
Now that there is a ban, all restaurants will have a fair playing field.
Ask yourself this...
The bar and restaraunt business is a very competitive business. Owners look for ways to set themselves apart or garner new business. These owners are pretty smart folk in order to have their business be successful.
If banning smoking was that great for business, would they already have done it voluntarily?
Answer:
Gertz Point,
If it goes anything like what I personally witnesses in California, or what my fiance personally witnessed in Ohio, when smoking bans went thru...
Many bars and smaller Mom & Pop restaraunts ended up closing due to not being able to(either physically or financially) comply with the regulations. Even the pool hall, that I grew up going to, ended up selling within a years time.
Don't let the "statistics" fool you. Anti-smoking pundits use skewed statisics(by including traditionally non-smoking facilities like fast food restaraunts) to make their numbers look good.
And I take it...
You, and others like you, don't care about a business owner's right to operate their business as they see fit.
And I thought smokers were selfish...
Smokers, get over it!!!!
Smokers, get over it!!!! If you don't care about your lungs and don't care if you get lung cancer, at least respect the people who do care about their health. If you are that addicted and can't go an hour or two without a cigarettte, then step outside and smoke or go sit in your car and smoke and let the non-smokers enjoy themselves.
will the smoking ban create jobs or
Will the smoking ban create jobs or force some bars/restaurants to close their doors creating more unemployment?
The government should just
The government should just stay out of our lives. It doesn't work anyway. Look at the financial mess our country is in because those with the money figured out how to circumvent the government regulations to prevent what just happened. Imagine if the government let business run themselves like it was the wild west!
On the other hand, if I want to go to a restaurant and eat out of date salmonella contaminated food, should I be upset that I can't because the government sees fit to protect us from those who don't care about my health?
My crusade.
Ban all babies. Their crying reaches 110 decibels. Multiple scientific studies have proven anything over 85 decibels causes serious hearing damage.
Now is the time to stand up for your personal hearing health. No babies should be let out of their homes. The potential auditory health repercussions are too serious to overlook.
The public demands goverment intervention to protect our hearing health.
I thought...
you had a fat kid. Add another crusade!!!
Gertz Point
Actually, you are incorrect that I would decry government intervention on unhealthy food. It is obvious that greed and money run our corporations at the expense of our children's health. I am not afraid of the govt. as many seem to be. I don't see 1984, Orwell's ominous novel, ever becoming a realty in the U.S. Chill out. I am delighted about the smoking ban and only hope the product will be totally banned in the near future.
I also love the...
integration excuse.
One can not choose to "not be black". One CAN choose to smoke, or not to...to go into an establishment that allows smoking, or doesn't. At least the OPTION is available.
Of course, I'll leave Michael Jackson out of the example base.
Well then...
I'm looking forward to purposely walking into a non-smoking section, lighting up, and blowing smoke all over the place...just to piss your ilk off.
I'll gladly pay the $25 fine for the satisfaction of annoying you and "giving you cancer".
Then I'll go to the owner and apologize for all the idiots that took away his right to run their business the way they sees fit.
Just a minute
"katet43483 on Sat, 02/21/2009 at 2:11 pm.
How absurd to tell people "eat at home if you don't want to smell someone's smoke." How about this: "If you can't stand to go an hour without a cigarette and feel it's your right to pollute other's air with a cancerous agent, STAY HOME!!"
If I want to go to a bar and have a couple beers I also want to smoke my cigarette. You have hundred's of restaurants to choose from that already don't allow smoking, and I don't expect to smoke when I go out to dinner, but to the sports bar then it should be my choice. Besides, you wouldn't be at that sports bar to begin with, you just want ALL bars/restaurants to ban smoking. When the Government starts to ban unhealth foods to prevent obese and overweight kids you will be singing a different tune.