Virginia's Smoking Ban in Restaurants and Bars Effective Dec. 1

The question on many restaurateurs’ minds is what effect the ban will have on their businesses, especially in a time when families trying to save money already hesitate to go out to eat.

“In my opinion, it will be absolutely fantastic for us,” said Conor Gately, a manager of O’Faolains Irish Pub and Restaurant in Sterling. “We’re always an Irish bar and restaurant, but we want to put the restaurant first. The lack of smoke emphasizes cleanliness, and because nobody wants smoke in their food, the restaurant trade is going to increase considerably,” he said through a thick Irish accent.

In fact, Ireland, “the home of drinks and good times,” as Gately described, passed a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants five years ago, he said, so this is nothing new for him. His experience with that smoking ban was that people were “grumpy” for the first week, but then people got used to it.

Gately predicted that in the Commonwealth, for the first week or so after the ban is effective, people (mainly smokers) will remain jittery about not being able to smoke inside, but after word gets around, people will embrace the change and keep coming to restaurants, he said. The start of the new year is a great time to start the smoking ban, Gately added, as people are beginning their New Year’s Resolutions. He wondered if patrons would begin to use the ban as a reason to kick the habit and quit smoking.

Although the General Assembly’s previous efforts to pass the ban on smoking inside the state’s 17,500 bars and restaurants had failed, Virginians join neighboring Maryland and Washington, D.C., in a smoking ban in most public places. The law was signed in February 2009.

“This monumental public health measure came about with bipartisan support from the General Assembly and with the support of the people of Virginia, the vast majority of whom want to enjoy dining out in a smoke-free environment,” Gov. Kaine said in a press release. “We applaud these restaurants for recognizing that they can help enhance the high quality of life Virginians enjoy by protecting restaurant patrons and employees from the serious health risks of secondhand smoke.”

The ban does permit smoking in private clubs and in places that have separately ventilated enclosed smoking rooms. Smoking may also be permitted in outside seating options in restaurants, provided they are not enclosed in any way.

Now that the ban has gone into effect, it is up to the Loudoun County Health Department to inspect these businesses to make sure they are complying with the law and have posted appropriate signage, said Dr. David Goodfriend, director of the Loudoun County Health Department.

"Our staff is prepared to fill their part as the regulatory role in establishing compliance," Goodfriend said. He noted that Virginia is not the first state to put a ban on smoking in restaurants. "From our perspective at the health department, we’re focused on making sure that establishments do comply. We don’t expect that many won’t," he said.

As to whether he supports the smoking ban or thinks it will have a positive effect on Loudoun's health, Goodfriend said, "We support the law and our staff is focused on making sure we do our job right. We’ll leave it to others to make the policy."

Some restaurants who have been operating smoke-free before the ban went into place do not think they will see a change in business.

“We’re already non-smoking, so we don’t have that as an issue,” said an employee of Vintage 50 in Leesburg.

Similarly, Finnegan’s Irish Pub in Ashburn has been smoke-free for years, so employees say they are skeptical that their establishment will be affected by the ban.

As of last week, about 75 percent of the state’s restaurants and bars had already gone smoke-free, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Secondhand smoke is responsible for as many as 1,040 adult deaths per year in Virginia, according to the state health department. In addition, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates the Commonwealth spends $105.3 million a year on health care related to exposure to secondhand smoke.

“I’m really looking forward to it [the smoking ban],” Gately said. “Everybody should look forward to having a good meal in smoke-free environment and try to get healthy from it.”