Where there's smoking in public, there's a firefight among health advocates, tobacco companies and restaurant owners.

"I get the whole Virginia thing about preserving our personal freedom," said Julia Torres Barden of Chesterfield County, holding up a copy of the U.S. Constitution. "But I can't find an article or amendment that guarantees the right to smoke."

Barden, an asthmatic whose 18-year-old son suffers from a genetic disorder that makes his lungs particularly sensitive to smoke, was among an estimated 80 people who turned out last night for a public hearing on state Senate legislation to further restrict smoking in public.

"I don't buy the argument that our state government doesn't have the right to ban smoking in public for fear of trampling on one's personal liberty," Barden said.

The Senate Education and Health Committee is expected to vote on the measures next week.

Lobbyists for the hospitality and tobacco industries are again pressing to derail the bills, saying that restaurants and other businesses should decide whether to go smoke-free.

Restaurants that seat 50 or more patrons are now required by state law to segregate smokers from others.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine favors tougher controls on smoking in public. In a legislative shootout over restrictions last year, Kaine ultimately vetoed a measure that, at one point, required restaurants that allow smoking to post signs reading "smoking permitted," and in return, do away with non-smoking seating.

Chris Savvides, proprietor of the Black Angus restaurant in Virginia Beach, said his five-decade-old establishment has prohibited smoking since 2006. It's a way, he said, to keep customers and attract others.

Allowing eateries to voluntarily go smoke-free, Savvides said, "is more rapid, more efficient and more equitable."

Barrett Hardiman, government relations director for the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association -- citing state health department figures -- estimated that two-thirds of Virginia restaurants are either smoke-free or limit smoking.

"The market is moving toward smoke-free," said Hardiman.
Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or jschapiro@timesdispatch.com.