RICHMOND — Smoke will be curling through the General Assembly’s agenda this session, but there’s no fire.
Legislators such as Sen. Ralph S. Northam have noted this year an increased concern with how smoking affects not only those who light up but also people nearby.
“If you talk to Virginians, about 75 percent of them would like to be able to go into a restaurant and not be exposed to secondhand smoke,” said Northam, a neurologist and pediatrician who represents the Eastern Shore and parts of Tidewater in the Senate.
“It’s a health issue,” he said.
Northam is sponsoring two bills this session to address the matter — Senate Bill 1105 and Senate Bill 1106.
SB 1105 would ban smoking in all indoor restaurants, lounge areas and bars in Virginia. It also would require the venue to erect “No Smoking” signs. The bill would add a penalty for such violations to the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act, which passed in 1990.
As the legislation stands, restaurants that seat 50 or more people must designate a sufficient no-smoking area for their customers.
Last year, Northam sponsored a bill similar to SB 1105. It cleared the Senate but hit a roadblock in a House committee.
“There are still some folks in the House that don’t agree with it,” Northam said. “Their point is that the less government in our lives, the better. But I think, as a government, we also have the responsibility of protecting our citizens.”
SB 1106, a bill to ban smoking in vehicles with minors present, resulted from a discussion between the senator and some students of Kegotank Elementary School in Accomack County.
“I was explaining to the children that I was their representative, that this was their government,” Northam said.
After the senator asked the students what they would like him to do for them in Richmond, a third-grader stood up.
“He said when he was in his seatbelt in the backseat, he didn’t like the fact that his mother smoked,” Northam said. “When you think about it, it’s really like a moving gas chamber — a car with the windows up and poor ventilation, especially in the wintertime or the heat of the summer.
“I told him that I understood that and that I would look into it.”
According to Northam, the student’s mother supports the bill. “She said, ‘I agree with you and agree with my child that I shouldn’t be smoking in the car,’ ” Northam said.
If SB 1106 passes, Virginia would join Arkansas, California, Louisiana and Maine in prohibiting smoking in a car with children present.
“Secondhand smoke is bad for everybody, but especially for children,” Northam said. “As an advocate for children, as a pediatrician, as a father, I don’t represent just adults. I represent all Virginians.”
