Absolutely on point, and anyone who may still be in doubt should read the report released by the U.S. Surgeon General only last year, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke.

This report lays out the scientific consensus clearly, e.g.: "Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20 - 30 percent."

Yes, even a Republican-appointed Surgeon General under President Bush (Richard Carmona) had to admit the facts -- although he did mysteriously and surreptitiously quit not long after that...

Overwhelmingly, Americans want smoke-free environments.  And they have shown in the states you mention that nonsmoking environments are good business. 

Smoking is harmful to all who must inhale the smoke of others.  But some suffer more than others.  Anyone who suffers from a lung ailment, such as lung cancer, COPD asthma, etc., is at special risk.  It is is simply unjust that others insist on despoiling inside air, so such sufferers must stay home. 

The right to breathe is more basic and essential than anyone's so-called right to smoke (pollute).
As one who suffers from asthma, I cannot tell you how important Tim's stand is, to me and other members of my family.

Thank you to Tim Kaine for getting this right.  Now we have to stand up to the despoilers, polluters and bullies who insist on making the rest of us sick.  There is just no excuse for this kind of abuse by the minority.

 

This push was by casino employees and the city council --

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The days of casino patrons puffing on a cigarette while pushing buttons on a slot machine or shuffling stacks of chips may be coming to an end in nearly half this resort's gambling halls.

In two weeks, the city's 11 casinos must comply with a new law restricting smoking to no more than 25 percent of the gambling floor.

http://www.newsday.c...

Interesting that the city fathers and the employees saw the health benefits outweighing the possibility of revenue loss.  This partial ban is a big step in an entertainment industry which traditionally has lived off smokers.

Another point -- as more and more people quit, the "revenue loss" argument gets weaker and weaker.

As a union local president I of course despise the right to work for less law. I'm waiting with baited breath for Kaine to bring some UNION jobs to the state instead of these companies that come here precisely so they don't have to worry about unions. Organizing here is almost impossible. And as a smoker I think I can sit in a restaurant for an hour or so without having to smoke. I don't like it but I guess I will have to live with it. I guess I'm on the fence about this.

A new product--at least new to the US is being tested.  It's called Snus, pronounced like snooze.  It's a type of snuff from Norway or Denmark, I think.  It's in a little teabag and you put it in your upper lip.  Now here's the best part--because of the way the tobacco is cured without heat, the carcinogens are much lower as is the risk of oral cancer is much lower.  The other good thing is you don't spit as it does not seem to make one salivate like other smokeless tobacco. 

I'm one of those folks who's always gonna need some sort of nicotine fix, and as Louisville is going non-smoking July 1, I'm taking a serious look at Snus.  Right now, you can only get in a few states.  My wife picks it up for me in North Carolina.  I can recommend the Camel Frost. 

A 1992 document from Phillip Morris Impact of Workplace Restrictions on Consumption and Incidence', summarized the results of its long-running research into the effects of a ban. "Total prohibition of smoking in the workplace strongly effects [tobacco] industry volume. Smokers facing these restrictions consume 11%-15% less than average and quit at a rate that is 84% higher than average."[27]

  Cited at http://en.wikipedia....

As the daughter of a retired restaurant owner, who grew up in that business, I can tell you that there are owners who would love to go smoke free too.  In fact, a lot of restaurants in NOVA already are.  But they are indeed afraid that if they are "the only kid on the block to do it" they will lose business.

If there's a smoking ban, that gives them an out.  And it levels the playing field.  A state-wide smoking ban gives patrons, employees, and owners alike a safe smoke free environment and levels the competitive playing field. Especially since DC and parts of Maryland already have a smoking ban in effect.

I doubt too many Virginians are going to go to North Carolina just to smoke in a McDonalds.

He ran an eating, drinking establishment.  He hated cigarette smoke, but this was his livelihood for many years, during a time when smoking was an accepted way of life.  He died about ten years before he should have -- I've often wondered about the toll second-hand smoke took on his heart.