Virginia Adopts Restaurant Smoking Ban
On March 9, 2009, the governor of Virginia signed into a law the latest statewide smoking ban for bars and restaurants. This was a hard-fought battle by the governor of a state with a history steeped in tobacco. Virginia joins 23 other states and Puerto Rico who have passed similar bans. However, Virginia's governor claims that this new law is the toughest in the nation’s top five tobacco-producing states.
The law prohibits smoking in all public restaurants that do not have separately ventilated rooms for smokers. Restaurants cannot force employees to work in the smoking areas. Private clubs are excluded from the ban. Outdoor smoking is permitted on patios so long as the retractable flaps of any patio enclosure are lifted.
A list of U.S. state smoking bans can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_smoking_bans_in_the_United_States.
