Ban on smoking in Va. restaurants passes key test
BOB BROWN
Members of the Virginia House of Delegates vote on an amendment to the smoking bill, which later passed 61-38.
The House of Delegates voted 61-38 today to tentatively approve an amended version of a bill calling for statewide restrictions on smoking in restaurants.
The ban, a compromise between Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, and Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford, would make exceptions for private clubs and restaurants with a designated smoking room that is physically separated and independently ventilated from non-smoking dining areas. It also would exclude any permanent outdoor patio area of a restaurant or any portion of a restaurant used just for private functions.
The vote in the Republican-controlled House marks a crack in the last barrier to a further clampdown on smoking in public. In past years, the Senate has passed restrictions on smoking, but the bills have not made it to the full House for a vote.
The House today supported several changes to the bill proposed by Del. Terry G. Kilgore, R-Gate City. Among them was to postpone the implementation to Jan. 1, 2010, and to allow smoking in any restaurant when minors are not allowed in.
The House bill will come up again tomorrow for a final vote. A Senate version of the smoking ban compromise is scheduled to come up on the House floor this evening.
—Olympia Meola
Reader Reactions
Many feel that government mandate on smoking is inappropriate because the restaurant industry should regulate itself. Others argue that diners can go elsewhere if they don’t like the smoke.
My response to them is, the industry has not regulated itself and the government does have a responsibility to public safety. The asbestos industry didn’t “Self regulate” either- would you like to be living in a home lined in asbestos right now? How about working in an office that gives you cancer in 20 years? Well, you’re not.
This leads to my second point. The rights of the owners are considered as well as the rights of the patrons. What about the rights of the industry workers to not die? I can get up and leave. They can’t.
I applaud the legislature for thinking of the public good over private interest.
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