Smoking ban becomes law

By JUSTIN HARMON/Staff

Smokers who enjoy taking a drag after a big meal or a beer will have to change their habits if they plan on going out on the town.
In the past year, Virginia has turned hostile towards tobacco, raising taxes and souring its long relationship with smoking.
The latest anti-smoking legislation put into effect on Dec. 1 bans smoking in restaurants that don’t have their smoking sections structurally separated from the rest of the establishment.
And that seems to be just fine by some business owners.
“I don’t think it will affect my business much,” said co-owner of Wither’s Hardware Richard Cano. “I think people are used to not being able to smoke.”
Cano’s Abingdon restaurant also has a bar inside, typically a haven from an increasingly anti-smoking state. While Cano said the ban might affect his bar business a bit, he doesn’t see any protests or boycotts lasting.
According to a Twiigs.com poll carried by The Washington Post, 70 percent of responders agree with the decision to ban cigarettes in public restaurants.
The ban ensures that non-smokers will never have to walk through a cloud of tobacco by putting a stop to smoking outside designated smoking areas. These areas must me structurally separate from the rest of the establishment and have a separate ventilation system as not to cycle tobacco into the non-smoking section.
That means costly renovation for anyone wanting to keep a smoking section in their bar or restaurant. According to Cano, Wither’s won’t be going that far.
“We’re just going to stay with what we have. We’ve got two bars and one was always non smoking,” he said. “The other is separate from the rest of the restaurant, but it’s not separate enough for Virginia’s laws.
There are few exceptions in the ban, but private clubs and outdoor areas that aren’t enclosed by screen walls or any other temporary structures are the only places smokers will be allowed to light up.
Even with all the stringent rules attached to cigarettes, Cano hasn’t heard much grumbling.
“We’ve had some people say it violates their rights,” he said. “Business might go down temporarily, but as people get used to it they’ll probably go back to what they were doing before.”