The Times-Dispatch is reporting that Governor Kaine has struck a compromise deal to eliminate noxious and poisonous second hand smoke from Virginia's dining establishments.

"The compromise strikes a fair balance between the rights of smokers who choose to enjoy a legal product and the rights of other individuals who want to enjoy a smoke-free environment when eating at a restaurant," said House Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford. "This legislation is all about finding opportunities for cooperation and compromise where possible. And, where state leaders can find and share such common ground, we should.”

The agreement makes Virginia part of a growing list of states passing legislation to curb smoking in restaurants. Twenty-three other states and Puerto Rico have passed bans on smoking indoors at bars and restaurants.

I will be interested to see the compromise aggreement and the potential positive outcomes from this much needed legislation.

UPDATE: I just received a press release from the Governor's office with details of the compromise deal. It states:

The legislation will ban smoking in nearly all restaurants across the Commonwealth, allowing narrow exceptions for private clubs and restaurants with a designated smoking room that is physically separated and independently ventilated from non-smoking dining areas.

This is a fair deal, we'll have to see how dining establishments work to accomodate this new regulation into their business. I suspect a great deal will opt to eliminate smoking entirely as the burden of physical seperation and independent ventilation is a costly capital improvement. Considering the recession's impact on dining establishments I doubt businesses will be allocating precious funds towards improvements for an ever shrinking and burdensome subclass of customers.