Tobacco.org

LETTER: Smoking ban 

Tobacco taxes bring in a large sum of money to help maintain our state. Our tobacco companies employ people who need their jobs to survive, and the list goes on and on.

I'm sure Oliver is a nonsmoker, which he has a right to be, but what about the smoker who does not have the right to smoke in certain places? I'm aware smoking causes health problems and deaths, but so do cars, trains, planes, etc., and they are not banned.

We own a small business, a bar and grill, which allows smoking. About 75 percent of our customers smoke. As of Dec. 1 of this year, the smoking ban will go into effect, which will destroy our business and probably force us to close our doors after 23 years.

The people of Virginia had no say in the ban on smoking; politics did. Why wasn't there a vote on this issue? . . .

We as a business pay taxes to our city. If we close, the city loses money, people are out of work, and another small business is gone for good. Oliver may not smoke, but he needs to realize what tobacco means in Virginia.

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