The Virginia Department of Health challenged an interpretation of the state’s clean indoor air law that exempted a café and hookah lounge from the law’s smoking restrictions. In the final decision of this long-running case, the state Supreme Court determined that the law applies to any restaurant even if the restaurant is combined with another business, such as a tobacco retailer. The court concluded that the smoking prohibitions in the state law apply to the hookah lounge.
Virginia Department of Health v. Kepa, 766 S.E.2d 884, Court of Appeals of Virginia (2015).
Government, through its agencies and officials including prosecutors, may seek to enforce its health laws. For example, the government may revoke the license of a retailer that sells tobacco products to minors. These cases may also directly involve the tobacco industry, for example, a government might impound and destroy improperly labeled cigarette packs.
A single or multi-stemmed instrument for vaporizing and smoking flavored tobacco (shisha or sheesha) or other products in which the vapor or smoke is passed through a water basin ‒ often glass-based ‒ before inhalation. Water pipes are known by a variety of names such as hookah, huqqah, nargilah, nargile, arghila, and qalyan.
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
""The purpose for which a statute is enacted is of primary importance in its interpretation or construction." Virginia Electric & Power Co., 226 Va. at 388, 309 S.E.2d at 311 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). As the dissent below recognized, VICAA "is undoubtedly a public health initiative." Kepa II, 62 Va. App. at 630, 751 S.E.2d at 678 (Chafin, J., dissenting). The plain language of VICAA clearly shows that the General Assembly intended VICAA to promote the health of the Commonwealth by reducing exposure to second hand smoke in public places. The enforcement framework buttresses that conclusion.
VICAA promotes clean indoor air in public places, and it promotes clean indoor air for the customers and employees of such places. Not all employees have the luxury of working in their preferred work environment, yet they must work, and the General Assembly has determined that they should be able to work in an environment that limits their exposure to second hand smoke if that concerns them. Construing Code § 15.2-2821 (2) broadly to include "retail tobacco stores and restaurants" would frustrate the purpose of VICAA and roll back its protections for restaurant customers and employees throughout Virginia, and not just in a single hookah bar in Blacksburg."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
The Virginia Department of Health challenged an interpretation of the state’s clean indoor air law that exempted a café and hookah lounge from the law’s smoking restrictions. In the final decision of this long-running case, the state Supreme Court determined that the law applies to any restaurant even if the restaurant is combined with another business, such as a tobacco retailer. The court concluded that the smoking prohibitions in the state law apply to the hookah lounge.