Tobacco News and Interesting Information

In downtown Raleigh, just a few blocks from the state legislative building, a trendy new bar opened last month.

It's called Tobacco Road. But the entire bar is smoke-free.

These days, that bit of irony isn't an isolated case. For smokers, and for the tobacco industry that has been critical to the state's economy for centuries, the landscape is rapidly changing.

"Our consumers certainly face an increasingly finite number of situations, whether they be social situations or work situations, where they feel comfortable smoking," said Maura Payne, a spokeswoman for Reynolds American Inc.

Changing social views of smoking are accompanied by dwindling political support for tobacco companies. For years, Reynolds and the other major tobacco players enjoyed a sort of home-field advantage in North Carolina politics. But 2009 is shaping up to be a tough year for tobacco in the nation's largest tobacco-producing state.

Here are some of the recent developments:

Last week, a powerful legislator in the N.C. House of Representatives renewed his push to ban smoking in restaurants and indoor workplaces across North Carolina.

In the N.C. Senate, another powerful legislator wants to raise taxes on cigarettes this year.

At the federal level, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a staunch supporter of tobacco companies, has been replaced by Sen. Kay Hagan, who voted last week in favor of a federal tax increase on tobacco in order to pay for children's health insurance.

North Carolina's policymakers are increasingly arguing that the health hazards of smoking outweigh the state's important tobacco heritage.

"I know that this state has a rich history of growing tobacco, and we love our farmers and we respect them," said state Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake. But, she added, "this is about the health and safety of workers in our state."

Weiss was referring to the proposed smoking ban in indoor workplaces. The bill's chief author is Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, a survivor of lung cancer.

Two years ago, a similar bill filed by Holliman was narrowly defeated in the House. This year, it is expected to face another tough fight. But even groups that have strongly opposed smoking bans in the past -- such as the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association -- are taking a softer position this year.

Paul Stone, the president and chief executive of the restaurant association, said he believes that some type of smoking ban in North Carolina is inevitable.

As Holliman makes his push for a smoking ban, some other state legislators want to raise state taxes on cigarettes this year. The chief supporter is Sen. Marc Basnight, the leader of the N.C. Senate, who also wants to raise taxes on alcohol.

Such tax increases would have a small effect on closing the state's budget gap, but Basnight said that his main reason for supporting them is not to raise revenue but to lower the state's health-care costs.

Despite these broad anti-tobacco efforts, the tobacco industry remains powerful, and continues to be a major player in North Carolina politics through campaign contributions and lobbying.

Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, defended the tobacco industry last week. Garrou, a chief lieutenant of Basnight, is nearly always in agreement with him. But she opposes increasing the tax on cigarettes.

Garrou, whose district includes the Winston-Salem headquarters of Reynolds, said that Congress is on the verge of raising the federal cigarette tax. That's the tax that Hagan supported last week. North Carolina's other senator, Republican Richard Burr, opposed it.

"It's going to be hard for us (state government) to raise taxes as well" on tobacco companies, Garrou said, "if we're going to keep these fine corporate citizens, keep the jobs and keep the money in our state."

Basnight said he understood Garrou's position in opposing increased state cigarette taxes.

"And I would, too, if I represented Winston-Salem," he said.

Payne, the Reynolds spokeswoman, said that the company still believes it has good support in the General Assembly, despite this year's proposals.

"I think in the North Carolina legislature there is very broad and deep understanding of the importance of tobacco, both historically and economically, to the state," she said.

But she also acknowledged that the political environment is changing. More legislators are willing to consider tax increases on cigarettes, she said, and a number of other North Carolina laws in recent years have outlawed smoking in places as varied as prisons, adult-care homes and state-government automobiles.

"There are societal shifts," Payne said.

"And our legislators are part of that society just like anyone else."