ROANOKE TIMES
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 9, 1994                   TAG: 9403090151
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short


WORKERS TO PROTEST TOBACCO TAX

Thousands of tobacco workers, farmers, suppliers and industry officials will board buses and head to the nation's capital today to protest a proposed tax increase on cigarettes.

Most of the workers who converge on Washington will come from Virginia and North Carolina, but people from as far away as Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia also are expected to take part in the event.

"It's unfair to single out one industry and one group of people from one region of the country to pay for health care reform, which benefits everybody," said Jay S. Poole, a spokesman for Philip Morris Cos.

President Clinton has proposed increasing the federal tax on cigarettes from 25 cents to 99 cents a pack to help pay for his health care reform plan. The administration believes reducing the number of tobacco-related deaths would reduce health costs.

A total of 162 buses will start leaving Richmond for Washington about 7 a.m.

Poole expects more than 16,000 people to attend.

The trip to Washington is voluntary and workers will receive a full day's pay, the company said.



 by CNB