Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 17, 1993                   TAG: 9306170256
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AIRPORT BANS SMOKING

Come Sept. 1, they will have to snuff out their cigarettes.

The Regional Airport Commission voted Wednesday to ban smoking in the terminal, so smokers will have to go outside if they want to light up.

Airport officials said they have received few complaints since the ban was proposed in May.

Commissioner Kit Kiser objected to the ban again Wednesday, as he did when it was proposed.

The commission delayed action on the ban in May because only three members were present. In order for such a policy to be adopted, three affirmative votes on the five-member commission are needed.

Four members were present for Wednesday's meeting and the ban was approved by a 3-to-1 vote.

Kiser, a smoker himself, said he does not oppose a smoking ban in most public areas but wanted to preserve an area for smokers.

"There ought to be room for both [smokers and nonsmokers]," Kiser said.

But airport officials said the open nature of the building and the single ventilation system provide no way to segregate smokers and nonsmokers in the public areas.

In order for the restriction to be effective the way the lobby is designed, smoking has to be prohibited in front of and behind all ticketing and car rental counters and other customer-waiting areas, they said.

No-smoking areas were designated in the terminal earlier, but passengers and other visitors filed numerous complaints about the effect of smoke on them, said Jacqueline Shuck, airport executive director.

Many airports recognize that limited smoking areas can cause problems because the smoke cannot be contained adequately, she said.

Under the ban, a person who continues to smoke in a no-smoking area after having been asked to refrain may be subject to a civil penalty of up to $25.

The ban will not affect smoking in the airport restaurant, cocktail lounge and snack bar, but the company that operate these businesses has voluntarily decided to ban smoking in them.