North Carolina, Top Tobacco Producing State, Bans Smoking in Restaurants and Bars

North Carolina, top producer of tobacco crops and home to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Lorillard Incorporated, joined several other US states in banning smoking in restaurants and bars on January 2, 2010. The new law is a huge change for the largest tobacco-producing state in the country, where over a quarter of a million people are employed by the tobacco industry. It's also a sign of the times, and a shift in response to a sharp decline in agricultural production of tobacco, which once accounted for over a quarter of all farm revenue. Now down to less than 10% of agricultural revenue, tobacco has lost it's financial clout to manufacturing and technology.

The smoking ban is also a huge step in addressing the state's high number of adult smokers which, according to the CDC, is above the national average. The controversy over individual right's continues and has stirred up both smokers and nonsmokers. Proponents of the smoking ban explain that it will protect people from the effects of second-hand smoke, citing evidence that second-hand smoke increases the incidences of both cancer and asthma. Those who oppose the ban say it infringes on their rights and freedom and also effects the rights of businesses to decide whether to allow smoking.

North Carolina isn't the first state to ban smoking. It's nearly the last, and joins more than 30 other US states that have similar nonsmoking laws. Virginia, another state with a rich history of financial reliance on the tobacco industry, adopted a smoking ban that took effect December 1. In an effort to continue to include smoking in their establishment, Virginia restaurants and bars have introduced separate ventilation systems for smoking and nonsmoking sections. North Carolina business owners are already working on their own solutions by building outdoor areas where smokers can still light up legally.

The new ban also brings a level of uncertainty to a state that has long relied on revenue from tobacco to provide jobs and financial help for building Duke and Wake Forest universities. Bar and restaurant owners are concerned that they will lose business by complying but will lose revenue if they resist, since the penalty for breaking the law is up to $200 per day. The question remains, will the ban decrease North Carolina's high rates of smoking without dramatically effecting the revenue the state has been relying on for so many years?