Times are changing in the Old Dominion

The changing face of the Old Dominion can be seen in the stuff Jimmy Cirrito sweeps up off the floor of his bar every night. It used to be cigarette butts — now it’s gum.

“I got Nicorette and Bubblicious and green and yellow and purple. It looks like a circus down there,” said Cirrito, owner of Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in the northern Virginia suburb of Herndon, where patrons once smoked so much they burned holes in the curtains. Now they chew to fight the urge.

It’s been one month since Virginia became the first Southern state to ban smoking in bars and restaurants. For about 400 years, that was an unthinkable proposition. George Washington grew tobacco at Mount Vernon. Marlboro-making Philip Morris USA is headquartered in Richmond.

For the full story, read Faye Fiore’s story in the Los Angeles Times.

Tags: Herndon, Jimmy Cirrito, Jimmy's Old Town Tavern, Los Angeles Times, Old Dominion, Phillip Morris, Virginia