Virginia Smoking Ban FAQ and Polls
December 1st, 2009
Now that the smoking ban has gone into effect restaurants and bars will have to make the decision on whether to make the necessary adjustments to their establishment. Will they spend the money? Will smoking customers go somewhere else? Will non-smokers now frequent a traditional smoking bar?
Here is a FAQ that will fill you in on all the smoking ban information.
I have also created a few polls to see what people think about the subject. If you have other polls you would like to see let me know and I will post them.
Also please leave comments. This is a subject I’m sure many of you have opinions on.
Hunter and I currently live in Indianapolis, IN (miss Richmond so much) where there is a smoking ban in all “family” restaurants. Meaning 18 and under admitted. This definition includes all fine dining restaurants, so virtually all the nicer/pricier restaurants are smoke-free as are the typical casual dining concepts. There are a few exceptions, but they can not admit anyone under the age of 18. Families with kids/teenagers will be stopped at the door. No admittance.
I know of one restaurant (avg entree price $30, wine list tops out at $300) the owners have chosen to allow smoking for their patrons and are not interested in the family with a couple of kids.
Is this good business? Probably not as a rule, but on the other hand, the business owner would know who their target group is and what they want.
Most “bars” (ie the sports bars and pubs) and clubs allow smoking because their clientele smoke, again the 18 and over rule applies, but kinda moot because people have to be 21 to enter most of these establishments.
For those pubs and bars that have a lunch and dinner crowd in addition to the late night drinking crowd, they have the option of being non-smoking by day and selecting to allow smoking after 10 pm, at which point again the 18 under are not admitted.
Indiana winters are LOooooong and harsh (especially for a delicate Southern belle like myself) and standing outside during a winning Colts season is NOT an option for smoking football fans.
For the record, Husband and I are still ‘Skins fans, for better or worse (can’t get any worse than this season, though. So things are looking up). Husband smokes, I do not. Most of the time in order to see a ‘Skins game we have to go to a sports bar with about 4,828 tvs all tuned to some sporting event somewhere in the world. If we catch a ‘Skins game at home, Husband goes outside to smoke. Always.