Virginia House Panel Rejects Public Smoking Ban
posted 6:28 am Fri February 08, 2008 - RICHMOND, Va.
The action by the General Laws subcommittee came as no surprise. The same panel has rejected anti-smoking bills in the past. The move does not bode well for a package of anti-smoking bills passed by the Virginia Senate earlier this week. Those measures will go to the same subcommittee when they reach the House.
Public health advocates and cancer survivors spoke in favor of the ban at a public hearing. They said government has a duty to protect citizens from the harmful health effects of secondhand cigarette smoke.Jeff Harrison, a University of Richmond business professor, said he was diagnosed with bladder cancer caused by childhood exposure to his mother's chain-smoking and had to endure painful treatments.
"I became severely depressed and just wanted to die," Harrison said.
He said he recovered and now wants the General Assembly to take action.
"The first responsibility of government is to protect its innocent children" he said.
Dr. William T. Hark, representing the Medical Society of Virginia, said secondhand smoke
causes about 50,000 deaths each year in the United States. He said public buildings should be smoke-free to protect workers who have little choice about where they work.
"There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke, and only eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure," he said.
John O'Donnell, a musician, said he must play in smoky clubs and restaurants to earn a living. Anticipating the property-rights arguments of opponents of the smoking ban, he told the committee: "If you think this legislation is about choice, you're missing the point. It's about health."
However, committee members sided with restaurant owners who urged the panel to protect their right to respond to their customers' desires on whether to allow smoking. Several opponents of the legislation said two-thirds of Virginia restaurants have gone smoke-free voluntarily.
"This is about property owners being able to adjust to the market," said Barrett Hardiman of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association.
Restaurant owners said legislators should leave them alone.
"It's not necessary for government to interfere with how we run our business," said Nathan Jones, whose family owns 13 Buffalo Wild Wings franchises.
Committee members agreed.
"I have a problem, in America, telling a man who owns an establishment what he should do with his own property," said Del. David Albo, R-Fairfax.
Del. Terrie Suit, R-Virginia Beach and chairwoman of the full General Laws Committee, said that two years ago she supported a restaurant smoking ban because smoke-free dining choices were so limited. That's no longer the case, she said.
"Debate on this issue has elevated it to the point where government doesn't have to make it happen - it's happening," she said.
Along with the broad indoor public smoking ban and the one applying only to restaurants, bills giving localities the option to enact their own smoking restrictions were rejected.
By LARRY O'DELL Associated Press Writer
Latest Comment on Virginia House Panel Rejects Public Smoking Ban
Prettyboy
12:04 pm on 02/11/08
Tuckmeister you are right. People do have choices when out and about in Virginia. If a patron goes into a restaurant or bar and they allow smoking you can go elsewhere... I suppose what angers me the most is the man or woman who is working at places that condone smoking and they trapped to breathe in the air around them. Yeah, I know they get another job but for now jobs aren't that plentiful. It's just wrong for employee's to have to be subjected to that for 8 or more hours a day. If you add up 8 hours per day times 5 you get 40 hours. Now multiply that by 50 weeks a year and you get 2,000 hours of living with smoke in your lungs.. man.. I would tell my boss to go to hell and walk if that's what was going on at the postal plant here in my town.. in a year those who don't smoke will become a walking cigarette.. everyone has a right to clean fresh air.. of course in Virginia what's going on is that this state is a backward and warped TOBACCO state projecting forcibly there ways on others without concern.
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