From: tac@cheztac.com
Date: Fri, 03/30/07
Feel free to pass it along to everyone you know in Virginia:
Dear Virginia Residents,
For the first time, the entire Virginia Assembly is going to vote on a
bill next week (April 4) that would prohibit smoking inside of all
restaurants and bars in Virginia. It is critical that you let your
representatives know how you feel on this critical public health issue.
Some background: The Virginia Senate has twice passed a strong smokefree
workplace bill. However, such a bill has never been reported out of
committee in the House of Delegates. Last month the Assembly passed a
seriously flawed alternative that would eliminate "no smoking" sections
in restaurants and permit smoking if a sign to that effect is posted at
the entrance. Given the opportunity to make changes to the bill,
Governor Kaine has instead proposed a complete ban on smoking inside of
restaurants, including their bar areas (all bars in Virginia are part of
restaurants). On April 4 the entire Assembly will vote to accept or
reject the revised bill.
The Virginia affiliate of the American Lung Association has an advocacy
action website that makes it easy to send a letter to your Senator and
Delegate, at
http://lungaction.org/campaign/sfrestaurantsmar07
Again, this is the first time that most Delegates have ever had the
opportunity to vote on a strong smokefree bill. It is important that
they hear from their constituents on the issue. Please pass this urgent
message along to every Virginia resident you know.
--
Also, several people have emailed asking about what they can do if smoke
is invading their home when neighbors are smoking in an apartment or
condo. While there's not much specific to DC, we've posted some
resources at http://www.smokefreedc.org/housing.htm
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