With December’s cold air will come a new law in Virginia that will place more restrictions on smoking in restaurants, although it won’t entirely ban the habit.
Gov. Timothy Kaine signed the legislation in March. The law means that restaurants will allow people to smoke in a separate room away from the non-smoking areas. Exceptions are private clubs and outdoor areas.
While this is a good first step, it needs to go farther. Why not ban smoking in dining establishments and public enclosed areas altogether?
Business owners that claim they’ll be adversely affected by this new law or by even harsher steps must know that if all businesses are affected, the effect is the same across the board. People will not stop eating out because they can’t light up. And if they do, that should be an even larger red flag that those smokers are highly addicted to cigarettes, and should think of nothing but quitting, for their own health.
For the health and safety of those who do not enjoy inhaling carcinogens, let’s make dining establishments smoke-free in Virginia, and stop referring to the state as tobacco-land with the implication that nothing can change for the better. Virginia can be what we want it to be.
Stafford County Sun editorials represent the opinion of the managing editor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on his page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily the Stafford County Sun.
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