Norfolk backs off smoking ban

Local, Norfolk, Politics 1 Minute

whibley-theresa100×130.jpgI feel sorry for Dr. Theresa Whibley – I really do. Even though I don’t agree with her stance on the smoking ban, you have to give her props for having worked tirelessly for it. No doubt she feels abandoned at this point. The Virginian Pilot reports that the Norfolk Council is backing off implementing the ban.

“A majority of council now opposes it,” Council member Theresa Whibley said of the ban passed five months ago.

This comes after Norfolk boldly said its charter allowed such a ban. Seems that Norfolk really doesn’t want to put that to a test. And, in the end, Norfolk doesn’t want to go it alone.

I still don’t think we need a smoking ban. If restaurants want to go smoke free, there is nothing stopping them. And if the people want smoke-free restaurants, they will stop going to places that allow it.

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6 thoughts on “Norfolk backs off smoking ban”

  1. Speaking of making choices – I’d love to see some figures comparing the business of Arlington v. DC bars, since the DC ban. As more people experience the joy that is an evening without someone else’s habit stinking you up, the less tolerance there is for it. When involved in sorting out where to meet friends for drinks, DC has become the rule (from about a 70/30 DC/Arlington split before), almost entirely due to the smoke in Arlington bars. And this is from a sample with a lot of social smokers in it.

  2. MB – I wouldn’t agree with you assumption that the reason that people decide to go to DC strictly for the non-smoking bars.

    I blogged about this issue recently (prompted, actually, by a posting I saw here about Minnesota bars working around the recent smoking ban enacted there). There are plenty of non-smoking bars around now, enough to where there is no reason to go out of the area to find such a bar.

    VJP is right — let the free market handle this issue. There is no reason for the government to get involved.

  4. I didn’t make any assumptions, Nathan. These people are abandoning a number of long time hangouts for smoke free venues. Unfortunately, most Arlington spots are content to let a few ruin it for the rest of us.

  5. Vivian, is it that time of the year again where I remind you that your friends and loved ones would strongly support you quitting the habit? Or is that after the end of tax season?

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