After 400 years, Va. snubs out smoking in eateries
Published: November 27, 2009
Updated: November 27, 2009
Starting Dec. 1, a new Virginia law bans most smoking in restaurants.
It’s a major shift for a state where tobacco has been king since Jamestown was settled 400 years ago. About 70 percent of Virginia restaurants have already banned smoking on their own.
Virginia’s neighbor and the nation’s top tobacco producer, North Carolina, passed an even stricter restaurant smoking ban this year. It takes effect Jan. 2. North Carolina’s law will outlaw smoking in restaurants. Both states will allow smoking in outdoor patios.
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Excellent post BigBExpress!! I suppose that all the “smoke” from smokers tend to discourage restaurant operators. Sometimes it’s hard to stay with the fact that “ALL” restaurants have the same deal. So after the smoke clears, those who still insist on smoking will still frequent their favorite watering hole.
I think the ban is great. To wreak of cigarette smoke and have to breath it for most non-smokers is very unpleasant. The draw of the self-induced addiction aside, I doubt smokers are disgusted by the fresh air they have to breath.I noticed some of the comments made by the owner of the Wing Doctor. She seems to be concerned that it would impact her business since about 85% of her customers are smokers. I would like to point out to her that there is possibly a link between her smoking patrons and the fact that it wreaks of smoke when you walk through the door. WE LOVE THEIR WINGS! But we can not go there because the smoke was unbearable for us. We are not the only ones. We know other people the same way. Instead of lamenting this new law, I would suggest taking advantage of it. The bottom line is that there are now more non-smokers than smokers in the US. If I were the Wing Doctor I would make a big deal out of the fact that they are now “non-smoking” in there advertisements. They may find that they do more business than they did before. I know they will be in our crew’s rotation from now on.
SO can anyone tell me how much deadlier a cigarette is than a bullet from a gun. Finally i thought this was a free country, of the people, by the people not people dictating what others do. Maybe we should come up with cussing laws to go with these 2 laws. i bet it would pass too.
Thank you, commonsense, I look forward to the education.
Oh really…bbb…bbb…bart
You don’t know what you’re talking about-
as usual…
When “commonsense, in name only” says “educate,“ he usually means “dumb down, accept the status quo, worship your bible-idol, and obey your corporate bosses.“
Fortunately, more and more young people in the Tri-Cities area are staying in school, going on to college, and learning the art of critical thinking.
Many of today’s Appalachian leaders-to-be have gone outside the hills and are now wise to the right wing “klan-symph” loudmouths and bible pounding, uneducated, back-holler preachers.
Their educations, contacts, and friendships with other young people of different skin colors, languages, and religions will help bring this area out of the 19th Century and into the 21st.
here comes another one we’ll have to educate…
I am pleased to see this as I plan to move to the area in a year or so. I quit smoking in 1969. When Maine went non-smoking in restaurants there was an uproar. But the people settled in. A few years later smoking was banned in bars. Again an uproar but then people settled in. This past year smoking was banned in the patio areas too. It does not seem to have stopped people from eating or drinking. Hats off to VA and TN
In response to Switch’s list of “what SMOKERS have done for you, see what TOBACCO did to the state of West Virginia in a single year, besides costing that state $650 million:
http://tinyurl.com/yghljxz
“One in five deaths in our state is due to smoking, resulting in over 4,200 deaths in West Virginia each year and costing over $650 million annually. To put it in perspective, there are more deaths from smoking than deaths from alcohol, illegal drug use, suicide, homicide, AIDS, car accidents, and fires combined.
According to data from the 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), the rate of smoking among youths in grades 9-12 is 42.2%, fifth in the U.S. It is estimated that over 38,000 West Virginia kids now under the age of 18 will eventually die prematurely from tobacco-caused illness if current trends continue. About 80% of all smokers began cigarette use before they were 18. West Virginia youth have an average age of onset of smoking of between 13 and 14 years old. Cigarette smoking is associated with cancers of the lung, larynx, mouth, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, and cervix. It also causes chronic obstructive lung disease, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and heart disease and stroke. Other impacts of smoking are male impotence, exacerbation of asthma, increased risk of death from pneumonia and influenza, and wrinkles.
While the incidence of cigar smoking increased in our state during the 1990s, those using cigars and pipes remain relatively few in number compared to cigarettes and spit tobacco. Cigar use causes cancer of the larynx, mouth, esophagus, and lung.
According to vital statistics collected by the state, 25% of pregnant women smoked during their pregnancies in 1998, and women of childbearing age (18-34 years) smoked at a rate of about 35%. Smoking during pregnancy can cause spontaneous abortion, low birthweight, premature birth, stillbirth, and SIDS and increases the risk of birth defects. Female smokers also may experience delayed
fertility and earlier menopause .
Secondhand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), causes lung cancer, heart disease, and increased asthma incidents in otherwise healthy nonsmokers. Children exposed to ETS may experience respiratory infections (middle ear infections, bronchitis, pneumonia) and asthma. The EPA has now classified ETS as a Class A carcinogen.“
This is an issue where I am torn. On one hand, I understand the harmful effects of tobacco and that second and third hand smoke have their own dangers to innocent bystanders. On the other hand, tobacco is legal and I believe a restaurant owner has the right to choose whether they allow smoking in their establishment. As long as tobacco is legal, I believe it should be up to the establishment and the patrons if they choose to eat there. And in bars, well I dont know of anyone who goes to a bar for their health, but the same idea applies.
Ultimately I believe the government-federal and state-should stop trying to protect us from ourselves and let us use our own commonsense to decide whats best for us. We may not always get it right, but at least a personal decision doesn’t, on average, affect an entire state or nation.
Now for the honest part-I quit smoking when I found out I was having my daughter and I rode at the head of the bandwagon for three years. But life got stressful for awhile and I picked up kreteks. The difference is I can go days without one, compared to my pack a day addiction from 5 years ago. But even in my non smoking years when I was a rabid ex-smoker (I blame the hormones), I still disagreed with outlawing it in privately owned establishments for the reasons I stated above.
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