Indoor-smoking ban on agenda again

Publication Date: 2007-01-14

• Author:JOHN REID BLACKWELL
• Publication:Richmond Times-Dispatch

State lawmakers to renew push, but House might extinguish any measure

The tradition of smoking in bars and restaurants -- now widely recognized as a health risk to nonsmokers as well as smokers -- is coming under fire again in the Virginia General Assembly.

At the urging of public-health advocates, some state lawmakers are making another push to stamp out smoking in restaurants, nightclubs and most other public, indoor places.

Similar legislation was introduced in the past two General Assembly sessions, advancing a step further each year but ultimately failing to get through both houses of the assembly.

This year, supporters hope to gain momentum from several developments, including a recent U.S. Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke and a growing number of smoking bans in other states and cities across the country.