Big blows to once-Big Tobacco in Virginia

Governor Kaine's proposed smoking ban in Virginia's restaurants, announced late last month, is not without its opponents in the General Assembly. But the ban got an unexpected boost this afternoon from one of the Commonwealth's most respected statesman. Senior Senator John Warner, speaking to students in Charlottesville, stated his support in no uncertain terms. Charlottesville's Daily Progress quotes:

“It’s clear now, the building evidence that in ways sometimes we can’t always explain why, tobacco and tobacco smoke is injurious to health. Consequently, I think it’s important that Virginia join and be the 22nd state in the union to improve health.”

The power and influence of Big Tobacco has been waning in Virginia for the past couple decades, helped along by the Commonwealth's Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, created in 1999 to help farmers and tobacco-dependent areas transition out of growing the crop. Governor Kaine's ban- and the new bipartisan support of the influential Senator Warner- is an encouraging milestone as Virginia moves towards policy decisions based on public health rather than industry influence.