[Chief Smoker]

Well, I am officially blown away. I moved to VA 7 years ago after they passed a smoking ban in my state and now I need to figure out where I'm going to live come the end of the year....

The Home Of Marlboro has officially been screwed!

The home state of Marlboro and the world's largest cigarette factory is set to ban most smoking in restaurants and bars.

Gov. Tim Kaine plans to sign legislation on Monday in Virginia Beach that takes effect Dec. 1.

Kaine worked for years for a total ban on smoking in all restaurants. The bill that lawmakers passed last month falls short of that but generally restricts smoking to separate rooms that have their own ventilation.

Virginia has grown tobacco for 400 years. Philip Morris churns out Marlboros and Virginia Slims at the world's largest cigarette factory in Richmond.

[smilin]

it's not just virginia, it is nationwide! This country can clearly trace its commercial origins to a strong trade in tobacco and the tobacco economies of the south..you can't smoke in Texas, can't smoke in California, can't smoke in New York...i was actually in Florida, and oddly enough, you still see lots of smokers, and they seem not to care as much, but it is still the law, people just tend to ignore it more it appears in Florida...if you really think about it, they treat you worse for smoking a cigarette in most places than if you were smoking a joint! If you still want to smoke, you might want to think about moving to the country somewhere because in the midst of all this economic mess, these politicians are going to have us paying $20 bucks for a pack of smokes eventually to pay for the bailout of all the A*&hole buddies in Wall Street and DC...no taxation without representation! That used to mean something...