Virginia Senate Passes Smoking Ban

Yesterday the VA Senate passed a bill and sent to the House of Delegates a bill banning smoking inside all public places including restaurants and bars. You can read the article in the Washington Post here. When I caught news of this I was just a bit surprised. Why would the Commonwealth of Virginia, home of Phillip Morris pass such a ban? Tobacco has been such a big part of Virginia’s history. It was the crop that put the colony of Jamestown, and eventually Virginia on the map as far as England was concerned. Big tobacco has been the name of the game here in Virginia, and there are still a considerable number of tobacco farmers here in the State. Needless to say this is a necessary step, and I can only hope the House Delegates passes a similar bill so this can become law here.

This is a similar bill to others that have been passed in the Washington metropolitan area. Not too long ago, the Washington, DC City Council passed a similar bill in their committee to ban smoking in restaurants and bars. In Montgomery County, MD, a ban already exists. About two years ago, I went to a bar in Bethesda with a couple of friends, and I was amazed at how nice it was to go inside a bar, have a beer and not feel like I was suffocating from second hand smoke from smokers.

As a non-smoker, I loathe going into bars with friends and smelling the smoke. Second-hand smoke for some reason gives me headaches. This is more of an issue for me when I got shooting pool with my buddies. Billiard halls are the worst because it seems to be that everyone smokes there.

Now, I’m not against people smoking by any stretch of the imagination, if people wish to do something bad for their health like smoking, that’s their business, but then again, I shouldn’t have to put up with it in a public place, such as a restaurant or bar. I’m so glad that some of our State’s legislators have finally decided to do something that’s right. Bravo. I’m just hoping it survives the House of Delegates and Governor Kaine, if it makes it that far, signs it into law.