Tobacco Giant Reasserts Itself as Calls for Va. Smoking Ban Grow

RICHMOND -- Not too many years ago, all tobacco lobbyist Charlie Davis had to do to ensure swift defeat of anti-smoking legislation was to lean into the microphone at a committee hearing and say, "Philip Morris opposes this bill."

Times have changed for Philip Morris USA at the Virginia General Assembly. Lawmakers are voting this week on several bills to restrict smoking in restaurants and other public places, bills that are closer than ever to approval. And Philip Morris, the Richmond-based tobacco giant and emblem of the historic role that the golden leaf has played in Virginia's prosperity, suddenly has something to worry about.

"They're scared, and they should be scared," said Teresa Gregson, a lobbyist for the American Heart Association. "It's just a matter of time before this passes."

For two years, in part to improve a public image tarnished by the ill effects of smoking, Philip Morris announced no position on proposed smoking bans across the nation. But in Virginia this year, Davis and other company representatives are meeting with lawmakers -- in their offices or in the corridors -- to steer them away from the more restrictive proposals, lawmakers said.

"Charlie grabbed me in the hall and asked me where I was," said Del. Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry), who represents a swath of Southside Virginia once dependent on tobacco. "I told him I think we need to move the ball forward this year, maybe with a restaurant ban."

Davis declined to comment, referring inquiries to Philip Morris. Company spokesman David Sutton confirmed that Philip Morris is "engaging" lawmakers this year to shape what he termed a "reasonable" regulation of smoking in public spaces.

A number of bills are making their way through the legislature. Sutton would not say which proposals are acceptable to the company. A bill banning smoking in most public spaces and workplaces failed in a House subcommittee Friday, and a bill that requires restaurants to display a sign if smoking is permitted was passed.

Another version of the broader bill emerged from the Senate on Wednesday and is headed to the House of Delegates.

In part because of general anti-regulatory views in the legislature, approval of the bans is not assured. But because tobacco-growing regions have less influence than in the past -- and because of growing pressure from such vote-rich suburban regions as Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads -- more and more lawmakers, Republican and Democratic, are seeking smoking bans in workplaces, bars, restaurants and other places.

"I'm a cancer survivor. My father has lung cancer," said John A. Cosgrove (R-Chesapeake), who is promoting the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act, which would prohibit smoking in most restaurants that open after July 1, 2008. "I don't want to just say that the state's going to step in and make these sweeping changes in one fell swoop. But it's time to do something."

Philip Morris, the world's largest cigarette maker and perhaps the most powerful emblem of Virginia's tobacco heritage, has for years used its considerable resources to protect its interests in the political realm. Last year alone, Philip Morris's parent company, Altria, gave nearly $250,000 to Virginia candidates and committees, according to the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project.

The company chose in 2005 and 2006 not to lobby against proposed smoking bans across the nation, said Sutton, the company spokesman. Davis, the lobbyist, stopped attending the committee meetings at which lawmakers took up smoking bans.