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Even before the General Assembly banned smoking in restaurants and bars effective December 1, longtime smokers' paradise Rapture decided to pull the plug on puffing.
"We had made the decision before we heard about the legislation," says co-owner Mike Rodi.
Last August, the restaurant went smoke-free at lunch. "We were losing business," says Rodi. "We'd have maybe one smoking table, and people waiting for non-smoking. And we had a lot of smoke drift."
In January, smoking in the bar and Club R2 was limited to between 11pm and 2am, and on June 15, smoking was fini at Rapture.
The restaurant has a new chef, new items on the menu, and the owners are ready to freshen up the decor, paint and upholstery. It seemed pointless to do that in a smoky environment, says Rodi.
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Some local cigarette smokers doubt a new anti-smoking bill signed Monday by President Barack Obama will have its intended effect of keeping teenagers away from tobacco.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act calls for limiting tobacco advertising that could attract young people, banning candy and fruit flavors in tobacco products and requiring large graphic warnings on tobacco products.
However, some cigarette smokers interviewed Monday said these changes would not have affected their decision to light up their first cigarettes as teenagers.
“If people want to smoke, they’re going to smoke, regardless of advertising,” said Curtis Player of Martinsville, a smoker since age 18.
“When I was growing up, we didn’t have flavored cigarettes, and everybody still smoked,” Player said. “I never paid attention to advertising... Being around smoking, that’s what did it.”
One of the real tests of how federal regulation will affect tobacco use could be something you'll spot at a convenience store counter.
A new law signed by President Barack Obama yesterday will, among many changes, move all tobacco products -- snuff and cigars as well as cigarettes -- behind the counter.
How they share space back there could clear the way for more competition in a market now dominated by Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc.
It's competition that Chesterfield County-based Swedish Match North America is hoping for, and a rule it believes could lead to something it's long wanted: more space on retailer's shelves for its snuff and chewing tobacco.
"It's back to old fashioned blocking and tackling, how to be more competitive -- including against cigarettes," said Gerry Roerty, Swedish Match's president and general counsel.
Both Richmond-area tobacco companies broke with most of the rest of the tobacco industry in supporting the regulation of tobacco by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. . . . .
"This puts Philip Morris absolutely in control of the American market," said Alan Blum, director of the Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society at the University of Alabama. "This means Marlboro is king."
It is also likely to make oral tobacco -- snuff and similar products -- a major public-health issue, he said.
Swedish Match thinks regulation could open up the market, especially for its oral tobacco, Roerty said.
Prisons and other state correctional facilities across Virginia plan to ban tobacco use by February 2010.
Virginia Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor said smoking is banned or there are designated smoking areas for staff at eight prisons so far, according to The Associated Press.
Patrick Henry Correctional Unit No. 28 in Horsepasture is not one of them, Traylor said last week. Tobacco use is permitted there, he said, but only until Feb. 1.
Then, the tobacco ban “affects everyone, with no exceptions,” Traylor said.
Swedish Match North America is a Richmond-based company that has been in the smokeless tobacco business in the United States for more than 100 years -- our brands include Red Man chewing tobacco and Timber Wolf and Longhorn moist snuff. . . .
Swedish Match supports meaningful and effective regulation of its tobacco products, believing that manufacturers and regulators should provide consumers with information about tobacco products, so that consumers can make educated choices about which products to purchase.
It is our belief that the FDA bill, which we supported, calls for a regulatory scheme that, if appropriately implemented and administered, would allow adult tobacco consumers to make such choices. . . .
Swedish Match is prepared to work closely with retailers to make sure that adequate, visible shelf space is maintained to allow adult tobacco consumers to make educated choices about which product they want to purchase. By doing so, our company believes that retailers have the greatest opportunity to experience continued growth of the moist snuff category.
In summary, while Congress has completed its work on federal tobacco legislation, the FDA will have to go through an extensive process to establish the specific rules that govern the production, sale, and marketing of smokeless tobacco, cigarettes and roll-you-own tobacco.
Communities are often defined, at least in part, by the businesses that call them home. The history of our great commonwealth has been closely intertwined with tobacco since the first days of Jamestown.
Tobacco has played and continues to play an important role in Virginia's economy. . . .
By supporting FDA regulation, we hoped to provide leadership in helping resolve many of the issues that concern the public, our consumers, the public health community, and our tobacco companies, including a framework for guidance on harm-reduction efforts.
Is the legislation is perfect? No. The bill awaiting the president's signature is the result of compromises by all involved. There are some provisions that we believe cross constitutional limits, and we made our views well-known on that. . . .
Clearly, regulation will mean changes for the industry. Many have fought against regulation and continue to resist the changes it will bring, claiming some companies will gain a unique competitive advantage from this legislation. To the contrary, the legislation establishes a level playing field for all industry players.
As in any industry, the companies that best meet the evolving preferences of their consumers while adapting to a new environment will be the ones that succeed. That is exactly what we plan to do.
In the end, having clear rules established by a federal agency should provide more predictability for how all tobacco businesses are expected to operate. And that predictability will best serve the interests of our consumers, employees, retirees, suppliers, and the countless others who benefit from the fact that Altria calls Richmond home.
--Martin J. Barrington is executive vice president and chief compliance and administrative officer for Altria Group Inc.
Many have fought against regulation and continue to resist the changes it will bring, claiming some companies will gain a unique competitive advantage from this legislation. To the contrary, the legislation establishes a level playing field for all industry players.Philip Morris exec Martin J. Barrington offers more of the company's traditional straight-talk, this time on the FDA bill.
(Sunday's Commentary section will feature columns from two tobacco companies with strong local ties -- and different perspectives on the regulation bill.)
On the other hand, we remain squeamish about all heavy-handed regulation that restricts free speech, including commercial speech. Because limits on tobacco advertising are widely accepted and have been in place for decades, the actual damage will be minimal. Still, it's always worth protesting whenever the First Amendment takes a beating -- especially if free speech is under assault for the noblest of intentions.
We'll also note that tight regulation often brings even more joy to corporate executives than it does to reformers. As a general rule, government restrictions tend to squelch competition and benefit the biggest players in the market. Whether that will be the case with FDA oversight of tobacco remains to be seen. But we wouldn't be surprised if that happens. We'll take some consolation from the likelihood that Richmond's own Philip Morris USA could well be the biggest beneficiary.
Health care representatives from Virginia Commonwealth University and the city of Richmond are teaming up to encourage pregnant women to stop smoking.
The VCU Center on Health Disparities and Richmond's Department of Social Services' Healthy Start Initiative are launching "One Tiny Reason to Quit" to help expectant mothers to seek information and support for quitting smoking.
The campaign refers women to a toll-free number, 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).
A discriminatory bill currently pending in the Canadian Parliament would endanger agricultural jobs and could signal a worldwide movement against Virginia burley. If passed, the bill would essentially ban all burley exports from the U.S. to Canada, resulting in far-reaching, negative implications for the burley growing industry.
The Virginia tobacco industry generates hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Virginia tobacco farms are typically small family farms with few alternative crops capable of generating the per acre returns necessary to support their operations.
"More than 900 Virginia farmers depend on the production of tobacco to support their farming operations and rural communities," said Wayne Pryor, President of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. "Farm sales of tobacco in Virginia will exceed $70 million in farm value this year, and this bill would have a devastating impact on Virginia agriculture."
The original intent of the bill (Canada Bill C-32) was to ban only candy-flavored little cigars. But it has been written so broadly that it will apply to all cigarettes and will ban all flavorings used with Virginia-grown burley, effectively prohibiting the manufacture and sale of American blend cigarettes - with Virginia-grown burley tobacco - in Canada. American blend cigarettes contain burley tobacco and use certain ingredients to aid in the manufacturing process and to provide the products with their distinct taste. Unlike the products that are supposed to be targeted by the bill, these American blend cigarettes do not have a fruity or sweet odor or flavor.
Virginia corrections officials have quietly begun banning cigarettes in some state prisons and plan to make the entire system tobacco-free by February 2010. The health measure follows a national trend but has left public-safety advocates worried that inmate control could become more difficult.
The policy represents the latest in a series of anti-smoking steps taken in a state where tobacco has dominated the economy and politics for generations. A ban on smoking in restaurants goes into effect Dec. 1, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) began the process in late 2006 of banning smoking in most state office buildings.
"We've all seen the writing on the wall, all around the country and over the past several years," said Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections. He said prisoners and employees of Virginia's 32,600-inmate system were notified this year that tobacco would be banned completely after a one-year implementation period.
Already, eight of 40 prisons are either smoke-free or allow employees to smoke only in designated areas away from inmates . . .
Virginia follows the federal prison system, as well as states including California, Texas, Michigan and Colorado, in instituting smoking bans in prisons over the past few years. Maryland has banned tobacco products at all 24 state prisons, inside and out, since 2001.
As in other states, the effort in Virginia has raised concerns about maintaining safety in state prisons.
Virginia's roughly 40 state prisons, correctional field units and work release centers aim to be smokeand tobacco-free by Feb. 1 for staff and inmates.
Inmates were notified in January by a memo from Gene M. Johnson, director of the Virginia Department of Corrections. "Even when change is for the better, it can be difficult, and I appreciate your cooperation," wrote Johnson, who made the decision.
"Eliminating tobacco products has many positive outcomes including improved personal health, longer [life] and increased sanitation and safety in our facilities," he said.
Smokers who have tried to kick their habit may have used gum, patches or even the “cold turkey” method but probably not a computer. It may seem unusual but Dr. Scott Strayer, physician and researcher in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Virginia Health System, thinks it can help. He received $1.3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, to further develop and evaluate an online smoking cessation tool that puts information and counseling techniques in the hands of primary care physicians—literally. The three-year study will evaluate QuitAdvisorMD, an application for use on handheld computers that doctors can use during routine office visits to help patients quit smoking.
“Most people are aware of the health hazards associated with smoking. The QuitAdvisorMD tool to be developed with this funding is based on principles of Motivational Interviewing (MI), which has been shown to increase the likelihood of future quit attempts, even though a person may not be ready at that particular visit,” says Strayer.
MI is best described as a patient-centered counseling style that helps the subject work through their conflicting feelings about an issue. In this case, it is a desire to quit smoking while simultaneously craving that next cigarette. Since patients are seen in primary care settings more often than any other sector of the U.S. healthcare system, primary care physicians are well positioned to provide this smoking cessation support with QuitAdvisorMD.
A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty in Alexandria federal court to purchasing thousands of cartons of cigarettes, the latest in a growing number of cases targeting smugglers who buy truckloads of cigarettes in Northern Virginia and sell them in other states without paying taxes on them.
Mark A. Frondelli, 48, entered his plea May 26 in U.S. District Court to one count of transporting, receiving, possessing and purchasing contraband cigarettes. He admitted in court documents that he had purchased more than 77,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes from undercover agents about 44 times in Northern Virginia, mostly in Alexandria and Annandale. He put them in a box truck to conceal the cartons and drove to New York and New Jersey to sell them, the documents said.
Christopher Amolsch, an attorney for Frondelli, said he was lured into smuggling by the high potential for profit. . . .
Smuggling operations have long relied on suppliers in Virginia, where the state tax of 30 cents per pack is among the nation's lowest, partly because of the tobacco industry's historic prominence and political influence in the state.
Smugglers purchase cigarettes in Virginia, through criminal means or legally in bulk from wholesale outlets, and sell them in the New York area. . . .
Campbell said cigarette smuggling in Northern Virginia and nationally is increasingly a large-scale criminal enterprise, run by Russian, Asian and other organized crime groups. Federal officials have also linked the smuggling to terrorism since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, saying that terrorists use it to fund their activities.
A new statewide poll of registered voters finds that 71 percent of voters support Congress passing a bill to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products. The U.S. Senate is expected to debate this issue next week, and Senators Webb and Warner will play a key role in determining whether Congress will finally pass this life-saving legislation.
"Senators Webb and Warner have a critical role to play in ensuring that strong FDA tobacco regulation is enacted into law," said Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "We urge Senators Webb and Warner to vote for the bill when it's on the floor this year."
April 5, 1614: Pocahonts Marries John Rolfe
Pochontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indian confederacy, marries English tobacco planter John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia.
Save Our History: The Godspeed
A close look at the construction of the Godspeed and her maiden voyage.