Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994 TAG: 9406020074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Whitt credits a smoking ban that went into effect Wednesday at the region's four largest shopping malls.
"I can tell the air is cleaner," he said. "I think it's great."
Shoppers at the Valley View and Tanglewood malls in Roanoke, the New River Valley Mall in Christiansburg and the River Ridge Mall in Lynchburg can no longer light up in common areas of the building.
Managers at those malls said there were few problems during the first smoke-free day and that most shoppers and mall employees echoed Whitt's sentiments.
Mike Thorton, general manager at Valley View Mall, said he was pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming positive reaction to the policy. Since the ban was announced in April, Thorton said he has received only one negative letter and two negative phone calls.
"It's going great," the mall manager said Wednesday afternoon. "Not one complaint today."
Not everyone was thrilled with the change.
Carole Routt and Tammy Duarte, hairdressers at Tanglewood's J.C. Penney, were forced to endure the humid temperatures to enjoy a smoke.
"I think it's horrible," Routt said. "We're lucky to get a five- or ten-minute break, and now we have to take the time to come out here."
"And we'll freeze to death this winter," Duarte chipped in.
The malls are following state and national trends toward banning smoking at shopping centers. Malls in Northern Virginia, Tidewater and Richmond have similar policies.
Judy Tullius, general manager at Tanglewood, said the malls were encouraged by an Environmental Protection Agency study that showed second-hand smoke is harmful.
Smoking is still permitted at designated sections of some restaurants in the area malls, but not at McDonald's or Chick-fil-A, which have instituted their own smoking bans.
Todd Fleishman, owner of Treasure's tobacco shop in Valley View, figures his store is the last refuge for smokers who don't want to leave the mall or go to a restaurant.
Treasure's had been the only store in the mall to allow smoking, and Fleishman is continuing that policy.
"As a smoker, I still think my rights have been violated," he said, puffing on a cigarette.
Even so, Fleishman said he saw little change in his business Wednesday, and there were few people smoking in the shop.
"Once this sinks in, I think a lot people will be in here smoking," he said. "I'm hoping to actually see an increase in business."
Jon Perrelli, a Virginia Tech senior who works at Davidsons Outdoors in the New River Valley Mall, applauded the change.
"I think it's outstanding," he said. "I'm 100 percent behind it. Smokers shouldn't be smoking inside."
Enforcement of the no-smoking policy is low-key, Tullius said. Security guards who spot someone smoking will politely inform them of the smoking ban and give them an ashtray and some chewing gum.
To help spread the word about the policy change, the Roanoke Valley Alive & Well Coalition supplied all four of the malls with balloons and buttons bearing the no-smoking message.
In addition to cleaner air, Tullius said the smoking ban will probably help reduce the number of teen-agers at the mall.
"There is that certain group that is here for no other reason than to just hang out," and this will help cut down on that, she said.
Graham Moore, a junior at Cave Spring High School, said Tullius is probably right, but that it will be the mall's loss. "We blow all our money here," he said.
Moore, who was at Tanglewood on Wednesday, said he doesn't smoke, but most of his friends do, and they plan to go somewhere else.
by CNB