A Senate committee has passed four different variations of a ban on smoking in public and restaurants, in hopes the House of Delegates--where smoking bans have died in recent years--might be open to at least one of them.
The Senate Education and Health Committee spent most of its time on the broadest bill, sponsored by Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple, which would ban smoking in almost all public businesses and buildings, with a few exceptions.
Supporters recited statistics about deaths from smoking and from secondhand smoke--an estimated 1,000 nonsmokers a year die from secondhand smoke-related illnesses--while one supporter had more personal testimony.
Megan Rash, a college student and server at Tripp's restaurant in Richmond, said secondhand smoke at her job has exacerbated her asthma and contributed to her having walking pneumonia twice. "Working in a smoking environment has been damaging to my health," Rash said. "I have at least four nosebleeds per week. Our health is put on the line for a standard wage of $2.13 an hour. We don't get paid enough to put our health and ultimately our lives on the line."
Opponents of the bills, including the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association, said Whipple's bill went too far because it gives localities the ability to adopt even more stringent regulations. They said if localities chose to do that, it would create a patchwork of regulations that could disadvantage restaurants and bars.
Sen. Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, scoffed at arguments that private business owners can run their businesses how they choose, arguing that the state already regulates restaurants by circumscribing food storage rules and cooking temperatures, among other things.
"The fact is, not only in Virginia but all across America, we tell people what they can do with their property all the time," Saslaw said. "When you're dealing with a product like that and you're dealing with the dangers this has for the rest of the public government in this case has a right to intervene."
Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, the committee chairman said that while some of the bills overlap, the idea was to keep as many smoking-ban bills in play as possible, so that if the House kills one, the Senate can send over a more narrow one.
"The idea was to pass them all in case there is some appetite in the House for one version or the other," Houck said.
A bill to ban smoking in restaurants was passed by the Senate last year, after failing in previous years.
298
All of Virginia
Bans smoking in all public buildings. It has exemptions for private homes, cars, private clubs, specialty tobacco stores and tobacco manufacturers, home-based businesses unless they're day cares or health care facilities, and hotel rooms designated as smoking.
501
All of Virginia
Is narrower than SB 298 because it bans smoking in restaurants, bars or lounges.
202
Give localities authority to regulate
Authorizes localities to make their own ordinances against smoking in restaurants.
I agree that people that do not smoke should not have to be exposed to it in resteraunts, but isn't that why they have smoking and non smoking sections? It is estimated that around 1000 non smoking people die each year due to second hand smoke. I have seen more bills hit the floor and laws made concerning second hand smoke. We have bigger problems here that need attention like the more then 15000 people killed by drunk drivers each year. People can avoid second hand smoke hard to avoid a drunk driver.
Star Directory
Smoking ban
(posted by
peachesmom
, Feb. 1, 2008 5:12 pm)
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