Opinion: Ban on Public Smoking Rears its Head…Again

Publication Date: 2008-02-25

• Author:Rebecca Sweeney
• Publication:Planet Blacksburg

The set of four smoking bills passed in the Virginia Senate this month are now on their way to the Republican-controlled House of Delegates – and that's probably as far as they'll get.

The bills, which would ban smoking in restaurants, bars and many other public places, would also give cities and counties the authority to pass additional ordinances banning smoking within their boundaries. Similar legislation never made it out of House sub-committees last year, and the next few weeks will show if history will repeat itself...

The next few weeks will tell if the House of Delegates acknowledges the severity of this infringement, and if not we'll surely be back at this square this time next year. Maybe it will take a year more of deaths and health problems caused by second-hand smoke to allow lawmakers to light up to the idea of banning public smoking.