Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 28, 1995 TAG: 9507280097
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
That's a greeting Gov. George Allen has been offering this summer as he passes out packs of Virginia-made cigarettes to smokers he finds puffing on brands made out of state.
As far as he's concerned, the free samples aren't a health issue. They're part of promoting Virginia businesses.
``Folks, if they smoke, should be smoking Virginia cigarettes,'' Allen said Thursday on his radio call-in show aired on the Virginia News Network and sponsored this month by Philip Morris USA.
``Why smoke North Carolina or Kentucky cigarettes? There are a lot of good cigarettes made in Virginia,'' Allen said. ``I certainly wouldn't give them to anybody who doesn't smoke.''
The Bailey's cigarettes are made by S&M Brands Inc. of Keysville.
``Obviously, he's promoting a product made in Virginia. It'd be nice if he'd promote a product that wasn't addictive and didn't cause disease and death,'' said Joe Marx, spokesman for the Coalition on Smoking OR Health, an alliance of the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.
Allen began passing out the cigarettes after attending a fund-raiser for Del. Frank Ruff, R-Mecklenburg. Ruff gave the Republican governor cigarette samples to take on his June trade mission to Europe.
Allen said he was happy to help a small, family business and promote a Virginia product.
``Tobacco, regardless of what you think about it, is certainly very important to our economy,'' he said.
Farmers in Virginia grew 101 million pounds of tobacco in 1993, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ranking it fifth in the nation.
Allen doesn't smoke, but he does dip snuff. His Copenhagen brand is made by U.S. Tobacco Co., based in Nashville, Tenn.
by CNB