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Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association 

The Empire State group has been around for a while, changing its name as suits the occasion. Aliases of the organization include: the New York Tavern and Restaurant Association, the Manhattan Tavern and Restaurant Association and the United Restaurant, Hotel and Tavern Association.

While the names may change, the group's ties with the tobacco industry have remained strong over the years. Back in 1994, in testimony opposing New York City's smokefree ordinance, Executive Director Scott Wexler admitted that his group obtained money from the Tobacco Institute to pay for a number of ads, including a full page ad in the New York Times.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of tobacco control advocates in New York and public access to once-secret tobacco industry internal documents, new revelations about the Empire State group have surfaced. The New York Times recently reported that in 1995 the Tobacco Institute funneled $443,072 in lobbying money through the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association to wage its 1995 clean indoor air preemption campaign.

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