2009.11.04
Countdown: 27 days until Virginia bars & restaurants go smoke-free
Wikimedia Commons
Come Tuesday, Dec. 1, all bars and restaurants in Virginia will be smoke-free except under a few limited circumstances:
1) Restaurants that have a walled-off smoking section with a separate ventilation system;
2) The outdoor cafe area of a restaurant -- the law wont prohibit smoking there (but a restaurant owner may);
3) In private clubs, including VFW halls, Elks lodges and American Legions (which are not considered public accommodations);
4) A restaurant on the premises of a tobacco manufucturer!
There are some other nooks and crannies in this law. You can read more details this handy sheet published by the Virginia Department of Health.
For this you ought to thank, or blame, former state senator Brandon Bell, a Republican who represented parts of Roanoke and Roanoke County for two terms in the state Senate.
Though Republican voters in his district had kicked Bell out of office by the time the General Assembly enacted the restaurant smoking ban, he is the guy who got the ball rolling on this legislation some four years ago.
His wife, Debbie Bell, had something to do with it, too. Here's a column I wrote about that back in March.
