Proposed smoking ban prompts fresh debate

Richmond restaurants might have a mandatory

change of atmosphere soon.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine proposed legislation this
past Tuesday that would enforce a smoking ban on
all restaurants, including private and public clubs, in
the commonwealth.

Delegate John M. O’Bannon, R-Richmond, said the
smoking ban is one of the most controversial issues
up for debate during this year’s General Assembly
session, which convened Wednesday.

“I think it’s one of the top four, five, six topics
this year,” O’Bannon said. “(It is) right up there with
payday lending.”

Some local business owners, such as Chip Zimmerman,
an owner of Richmond restaurant MoJo’s, say
the ban won’t hurt sales.

Zimmerman said he is supportive of the legislation.

“In the end, I don’t think it will affect sales,” Zimmerman
said. “People will still go out to eat and don’t
have to go home smelling like smoke.”

Christopher Ripp, the proprietor and executive chef
of Can Can, a French restaurant in Carytown, said
he agreed. The ban won’t hurt sales but instead will
draw a new crowd, Ripp said.

“We think it will actually bring in more business,”
Ripp said. “More people will be willing to have dinner
(here). Those who are overly sensitive
(to smoke) will . come more often .
especially on the weekends when the
bar gets overcrowded.”

Shannon Hicks, marketing director
for the Tobacco Company Restaurant
in Shockoe Slip, said the staff has been
leaning toward making their restaurant a
smoke-free facility. Currently, diners are
allowed to smoke at the bar or in private
areas upon request, Hicks said.

“We will just cross that bridge when
we come to it,” Hicks said. “When it
goes into law, we will all adjust and be
in it together.”

Barrett Hardiman, director of government
relations for the Virginia Hospitality
& Travel Association, said the association
opposes Kaine’s proposed legislation.

“We are opposed to the smoking
ban . We think it should be a business’
choice,” Hardiman said. “We’re
concerned about it and will be working
on it this session.”

Hardiman said that the Virginia
Hospitality & Travel Association supports
the current Virginia Indoor Clean
Air Act that requires any restaurant
that has 50 seats or more to provide a
non-smoking section.

Hardiman said the association has
a number of members who own cigar
bars. Members of his association will be
speaking to each of the legislators about
the issue to help represent those whose
business would be hurt if the legislation
is passed.

“(Smoking) . is something they have
built their businesses around,” Hardiman
said.O’Bannon said he already has heard
from lobbyists on the issue.

“Phillip Morris is in the middle of
my district,” O’Bannon said. “(I have
already received) a tremendous amount
of lobbying.”

Yet, O’Bannon said he is conscious of
Virginia’s private businesses owners.

“I’m very sensitive to letting the
marketplace work,” he said.

Kaine’s legislation was motivated by
health concerns for restaurant staff and
consumers.

“The scientific evidence on the health
risks associated with exposure to secondhand
smoke is clear and convincing,”
Kaine said Tuesday. “Recognizing the
negative health effects and high public
costs of secondhand smoke, Virginia
must act to protect the workers and
consumers in its restaurants.”

According to the governor’s Web site,
the Virginia Department of Health says
secondhand smoke is responsible for
1,700 deaths a year. The Commonwealth
of Virginia spends $124.9 million a year
on health-care expenditures related to
secondhand smoke exposure, according to
the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

Erin Bryant, event coordinator and
bartender for MoJo’s, said she experiences
secondhand smoke frequently at her job
and supports the smoking ban.

“I lived in Connecticut when they
passed the smoking ban there . and
it was almost nicer (after that passed
the ban),” she said. “I’m not opposed
to it at all.”

Kaine’s legislation has a better chance
of passing this year than last year,
O’Bannon said.

Last year, Kaine proposed legislation
that passed the General Assembly. The
legislation required restaurants with
smoking sections to post a “Smoking Permitted”
sign. Yet, after Kaine amended
the bill to ban smoking in all Virginia
restaurants, the bill was rejected by the
House of Delegates with a 59-40 vote,
and Kaine vetoed the bill.

“(The bill) probably has a better
chance this year,” O’Bannon said.

For more information or to comment
on this legislation, visit www.governor.
virginia.gov/SmokeFreeRestaurants/.