One last shot to clear the smoky air in Virginia restaurants

The power to revive Virginia’s restaurant smoking ban legislation – and give it a full and fair vote – rests in the hands of one woman.

Delegate Terrie Suit, R-Virginia Beach, holds the keys to unlock the smoking ban bills before the legislative session ends on March 8. She should do just that.

Suit is chairwoman of the General Laws Committee. At present, four bills that would place various restrictions on public smoking in the state are languishing in a subcommittee that reports to her. The six-member subcommittee tabled the bills without a recorded vote, effectively leaving them to die there.

THE PEOPLE of Virginia deserve better than such an undemocratic, unaccountable process.

As committee chairwoman, Suit can revive the bills and bring them before her 21-member committee for a vote. While there are no guarantees that the committee would send the bills to the floor, it’s the best shot for the ban’s survival.

Ban backers, although discouraged, aren’t giving up yet. Gov. Tim Kaine, who has pushed for the policy change for two years, sounded somewhat optimistic that a work-around solution to get the bill to the House floor will be found.

"The bills were tabled. They’re not dead yet," Kaine told this newspaper’s editorial board last week. "There are a couple of alternatives being kicked around."

THE GOVERNOR indicated he is still talking with legislators about changes to the bills that could make them more palatable to a reluctant House. Among the options under consideration, compromise language that would exempt bars from the requirements or allow smoking after 10 p.m.

Tennessee opted for a similar exemption in route to successful passage of its relatively broad public smoking ban last year. Businesses that prohibit customers and employees under age 21 are exempt from the Volunteer State smoking ban, as are cigar bars.

But the vast majority of Tennessee’s restaurants – including the chain restaurants that cater to families, but also have a bar area – are now smoke-free. There has been no major outcry against the law, even in a state that was once as enthralled with tobacco as Virginia.

In both states, the public supports a restaurant smoking ban; a recent poll in Virginia placed that support at 75 percent. This makes sense, considering that smokers are just 19.6 percent of Virginia’s population and 26 percent of Tennessee’s population.

IT ISN’T just the public that is pushing for smoke-free restaurants. The Virginia Beach Restaurant Association, an industry group with more than 100 members, is playing an active advocacy role in the debate. The group wants smoke-free restaurants, but wants a state law that would provide a level playing field for all eating establishments.

"The vast majority of restaurants support the ban and the vast majority of our customers support it," said Matt Falvey, owner of the Hot Tuna restaurant in Virginia Beach and a former head of the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association. "All we’re asking for is a chance to argue this in the committee."

Suit, who represents the Virginia Beach area in the legislature, was once on the same side of the issue – voting in favor of a smoking ban last year. Ban supporters suspect she changed sides because of pressure from House Speaker William Howell, a reliable ally of Big Tobacco, who appointed Suit to head the General Laws Committee.

If so, this is the worst kind of politics. The will of the people should never be subverted by the influence of special interests or the political ambitions of a single lawmaker.

The Virginia Beach Restaurant Association took out full-page ads in the Virginian-Pilot targeting Suit last week. The group is urging residents from all across the state to call or e-mail Suit and other key lawmakers and ask for a full committee hearing on the smoking ban bills.

SUIT DESERVES to hear from every Southwest Virginia resident who is concerned about their health or that of their children and grandchildren, but this public action campaign shouldn’t end there.

Three local lawmakers sit on Suit’s General Laws committee – Delegates Dan Bowling, D-Tazewell; Bud Phillips, D-Sandy Ridge; and Bill Carrico, R-Independence. Bowling, the token Democrat on the bill-killing subcommittee, opposes the ban. Both Carrico and Phillips voted against similar bills in previous sessions.

Despite their previous votes, local residents should still contact these lawmakers and ask that the bill get a full committee hearing. Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, also should hear from constituents because of his role as the House Republican Caucus Chairman. He has considerable influence.

The region’s lawmakers should use their influence and power to provide lasting protection for their constituents’ health. The restaurant smoking ban is a good law. It protects the health of restaurant patrons and workers – the vast majority of whom have chosen not to smoke. Why should their lives be placed in jeopardy by the careless decisions of others and the willful neglect of state lawmakers?

Virginia has one last shot to clear the air in its restaurants this year. Take the shot. Join Tennessee and 21 other states that have embraced a cleaner, healthier future.

Andrea Hopkins is opinion editor of the Bristol Herald Courier. She may be reached at or (276) 645-2534.