| NO SMOKING could be coming to a restaurant, bar or public place near you.
The state Supreme Court unanimously cleared the way yesterday for local health boards to ban indoor smoking.
Those "Areas" enjoyed by smokers are becoming a thing of the past in some cities and counties in West Virginia.
Eric Duranti, Calhoun Sanitarian, said the "regular rules are still in place" in the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department's six county region.
"Local restaurants must maintain 75% non-smoking areas," according to Pat Fullmer with the MOVHD in Parkersburg. In this region, all bars are exempt from smoking regulations.
There is no specific movement toward changing the rules, although parts of the state have eliminated smoking in bars and eateries.
Such action could be forthcoming.
The court's decision was sweeping, declaring that the Legislature gave county health boards the authority to regulate secondhand smoke in most offices and public places.
The justices did not include bingo halls and nursing homes from county health boards' regulations because the Legislature
has enacted specific rules allowing those places to decide on smoking.
County health boards lack the power to ban smoking in "a truly and exclusively private office, like one's own home."
Many restaurant and bar owners said they expect the decision to hurt their business.
The owner of the Smokehouse in Kanawha County, predicts there would be "a lot of people getting fined and going to
jail."
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