By a narrow margin, the Virginia Senate passed a bill to ban smoking in all indoor public facilities, including restaurants, bars, banks and hotel lobbies.
The bill was not expected to pass in the House of Delegates and it died in committee unanimously last Friday.
Most lawmakers said they did not think the bill would pass in a state that is the third-largest tobacco-producing state in the nation and is home to Philip Morris national headquarters.
Conservative lawmakers said they were hesitant to endorse the bill because they were worried the government would be overstepping its rights over business owners if the bill had passed.
Second-year College student Jonathan Massell said he agreed with the lawmakers' responses.
"I realize there are health risks, but places tend to be unfair to smokers," Massell said. "It should be the choice of the proprietor."
The government could use alternate arguments to justify its control, Massell said, but the argument would still fall through.
"There are arguments for a public safety risk, but it's not that severe at this point," Massell said. "Right now the government is being overbearing."
Although third-year College student Andrew Brown said he also agreed with the legislature, he said he can see the other side's perspective.
"For some people, cigarette smoke absolutely disgusts them," Brown said.
Massell said everyone should not be subjected to secondhand smoke, but he believes non-smokers bothered by secondhand smoke will take action themselves.
"If people are that bothered, they won't go to smoky bars often," Massell said.
Both students said public facilities could accommodate non-smokers by means other than banning smoking altogether.
"Maybe the restaurants could change the rules to allow smoking only at night when it becomes more of a bar setting," Brown said.
In Massell's opinion, restaurants already accommodate smokers and non-smokers equally.
"Most restaurants have clear lines of separation for smoking and non-smoking," Massell said.
Even if the bill had been passed, Brown said he thinks it would have had a minimal effect on places where smoking is prevalent, such as bars.
"The bars would have to provide places for people to dispose of cigarette butts outside," Brown said. "People would be smoking near the entrances, which may not look good to non-smokers."
Massell said he saw the situation similarly.
"Overall, there would not have been a big effect," Massell said. "A few places would have been more affected -- for instance, cigar bars -- but people go to bars regardless."
Despite the state's tie to tobacco and cigarettes, Massell speculated that the bill may be passed years down the road.
"The country is gradually becoming more anti-smoker," Massell said. "I'm not sure who will have the bigger pull."
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