THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9407120141
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 144 lines
GARY BRASLEY and his family spent a big part of their vacation in Myrtle Beach, S.C., last summer looking for restaurants that had ``no smoking'' areas. They had little luck, and they vowed not to vacation there again.
On their way home to Connecticut, they had lunch in a Petersburg, Va., restaurant and relayed their experience to the waiter there. The waiter told the family they should consider vacationing in Virginia Beach because ``the city has a strict ordinance about smoking.''
So the Brasleys came to Virginia Beach this week.
``I'm allergic to smoke, and I always ask for a table in the no smoking section. Where we're from, in Connecticut, most restaurants actually have separate rooms for smoking and no smoking,'' Brasley said.
At least one Virginia Beach eatery has banned all smoking on its premises. The First Colony Coffee House doesn't allow smokers because ``smoke adversely affects the coffee beans we have on display. It permeates the bins,'' said Gerry Blake, general retail manager.
THE CITY HAS HAD a smoking ordinance since May 1989. The seven-page statute can be confusing, however, and few residents know who enforces the rules or the consequences of violating them.
Basically, smoking is prohibited in most public places, such as retail and service establishments, educational facilities, places of entertainment, city buildings and public restrooms. But the managers of places where smoking is not allowed may provide designated smoking areas, not to exceed 25 percent of the total area.
The ordinance specifies three places where smoking is permitted: restaurants (including bars), bowling alleys and bingo halls. The catch here is, if these establishments have a seating capacity of 50 or more, they must provide ``a designated no smoking area sufficient to meet customer demand.''
``That's the key there: `sufficient to meet customer demand,' '' explained Frank Scanlon, manager of the city's environmental health department. ``I think the effects of secondhand smoke have been pretty well documented by now. Everybody is entitled to due process; they have the right to express their concerns, whether they're smokers or non-smokers.''
The department is charged with enforcing the smoking ordinance.
``What we're finding is that more and more restaurants are enlarging their no smoking areas, and some are going totally smokefree,'' he said. ``I think the next step in the evolutionary process is no smoking in restaurants and, after that, no smoking in public.''
Scanlon said enacting a smoking ordinance was ``a very courageous action by the City Council, in this big resort town. But our society is driven by the marketplace, and this ordinance addresses the power of the marketplace.''
The environmental health department has a staff of 14 who routinely inspect food establishments for compliance with the ordinance, and who also respond to complaints of any violations.
Since April 1993, the department has received only 15 complaints, the majority from non-smokers who feel their rights have been infringed. Scanlon said he rarely receives comments from smokers.
``We've been successfully able to abate complaints through education, as opposed to enforcing the ordinance through any court action,'' said Pamela Warner, environmental health supervisor. ``Generally, we just tell managers the problem and they will come into compliance. They're usually delighted to help.
``Often, it's just a matter of the `No Smoking' signs disappearing,'' she said.
Violation of the non-smoking prohibition is a Class 4 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $100.
Many restaurants are enlarging their non-smoking areas to meet customer demand, but they are not required by the ordinance to retrofit their facilities. This means that if only a waist-high wall or some other small barrier separates smokers from non-smokers, owners are not required to build bigger, stronger partitions.
VIRGINIA BEACH'S TWO MALLS, Lynnhaven and Pembroke, both went smokefree earlier this year. That was a choice of the merchants, in response to customer demand, Warner said.
She said trends indicate that smoking is becoming less popular and non-smokers are becoming more vocal about its effects on their well-being. Smoking is not as fashionable as it was say, in the 1940s and 1950s, and society is being educated more about its effects on health and the environment.
Smoking in public was actually illegal in the first two decades of this century, said Joe Buchanan, a lawyer who is dean of the Virginia Beach Campus of Tidewater Community College.
It was illegal because it was considered a fire hazard in an era of wooden structures. Laws were revised in the 1920s, however, and by the 1960s, smoking was permitted everywhere, including movie theaters, hospitals and restaurants.
Today, the trend is reverting back to no smoking in public, primarily because of recognized health risks, Buchanan said.
``I think what we'll end up with is, in places where you can't stop the effects of secondhand smoke, we'll see smoking banned altogether,'' he said.
The Virginia Beach Campus of TCC has been smokefree since 1992.
Warner said, ``In my opinion, smokers are trying to be more considerate. They know that more places are regulated now, and smoking will be prohibited, so they know to look for the signs.
``It all boils down to education, as to what the ordinance requires,'' she said.
Scanlon and Warner believe that when smoking becomes totally unacceptable socially we will have a smokefree society.
``It may take decades, or a generation, but that day is coming,'' Warner said.
Until it does, at least one family has planned its vacation around Virginia Beach's rules on smoking in public.
``It's good to know that we have a choice here,'' said Gary Brasley. ``What we're really looking for, though, is restaurants that are totally smokefree.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
On the Cover: The city has had a smoking ordinance since 1989. But
the seven-page statute can be confusing, and few residents know who
enforces the rules or the consequences of violating them.
A woman smokes outside the operations building at the Virginia Beach
Municipal Center.
A woman smokes behind Virginia Beach City Hall. The environmental
health department has a staff of 14 who conduct inspections and
respond to complaints of violations.
Sailors smoke in a gazebo at the Fleet Combat Training Center at Dam
Neck. The base placed several gazebos near buildings just for
smokers.
A man smokes outside a classroom at TCC's Virginia Beach campus,
smokefree since 1992.
SMOKING LAWS
Ordinances restricting smoking have been adopted within the last
six years in the following cities:
Norfolk: 1988
Chesapeake: 1989
Portsmouth: 1989
Virginia Beach: 1989
KEYWORDS: SMOKING CIGARETTES TOBACCO
by CNB