Proposals to ban smoking in public places and restaurants died in a House of Delegates subcommittee Thursday.
A subcommittee of the House General Laws Committee tabled the proposed bills, which ranged from banning smoking in most public places to giving localities the option to enact smoking bans.
The Senate recently passed several similar smoking bans. The committees will have to respond to those bills after crossover day, when legislation from each house moves to the other.
I don’t understand that businesses do not realize that the ban on smoking is actually GREAT for their bottomline. The majority of people do not smoke and many avoid places where it is aloud and therefore do not spend money at those establishments. Look at all the cities and countries that have banned smoking. Has business suffered? The medical evidence of second-hand smoke and lung cancer does not sway legislators who receive support from special interest groups to make the ethical decision in support of the ban. Shame on you, the majority of your constituents do not smoke.
--Yooh-yung Kim of Richmond, VA
Feb. 8, 2008 at 11:30 AM