Virginia Smoking Ban

By Broadside News Editor Sonya Hudson

The Virginia House of Delegates has agreed to sign off on a statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants.

If approved by the Senate the ban will go into effect July 1 and will ban smoking in nearly all restaurants across Virginia.

Private clubs and restaurants with designated smoking rooms and outdoor patios would not be included in the ban.

Some fast smoking facts

• The state of Virginia pays nearly $400 million for smoking-related illnesses.
• The state spends $113 million a year on health-care expenditures related to exposure to secondhand smoke.
• According to the Virginia Department of Health, secondhand smoke is responsible for about 1,700 deaths per year.
• 23 other states and Puerto Rico have passed bans on smoking indoors at bars and restaurants.