A House panel passed a sweeping tobacco-regulation bill yesterday, putting it on pace for passage by the full House far earlier in the congressional session than last year.

A House panel passed a sweeping tobacco-regulation bill today, putting it on pace for passage by the full House far earlier in the congressional session than last year.

Altria/Philip Morris: “larger wave” of job cuts this month Altria Group Inc. said yesterday that it expects a wave of layoffs this month at its Richmond-area operations but declined to specify the number of employees affected. The parent company of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA said last fall that it was reducing staff as part of a corporate reorganization.

A bill to ban smoking in motor vehicles when children are present has passed the State Senate. Violators could be fined $100. “This is about the health of our children,“ said the bill’s sponsor. There’s a shock. These days, every proposal under the sun is sold as necessary for the sake of the children. On the other hand, not every proposal is sold as necessary to prevent child abuse—but that’s how Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw put it. Noting that child abuse is illegal, he said smoking in the car with children should be, too. “If [that] isn’t child abuse, what is?“

A foundation that supports youth-smoking prevention programs in Virginia would have its role broadened to include fighting childhood obesity by legislation moving through the General Assembly. The legislation, which already has passed the Senate, would change the name of the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation to the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth. Its sponsors are state Sen. Ralph S. Northam, D-Norfolk, and Del. John M. O’Bannon III, R-Henrico, both of whom are physicians and members of the foundation’s board of trustees. O’Bannon is its chairman.

Richmond-based Universal Corp.‘s profit rose 4 percent in its fiscal third quarter on higher volumes from larger tobacco crops. The tobacco leaf company reported profit of $53.1 million or $1.78 per share, for the period that ended Dec. 31, compared with profit of $50.7 million or $1.56 per share, in the same period of 2007. Revenue for the quarter was $699 million, compared with $572 million in the same period of 2007, on higher volumes of tobacco sold and higher costs for green tobacco passed through in sales prices.

A bill to ban smoking in Virginia’s bars and restaurants cleared the House of Delegates General Laws Committee this evening by a 16-6 vote. It will now go to the full House.

Swedish Match AB, the parent company of Chesterfield County-based Swedish Match North America, is joining with cigarette maker Philip Morris International to sell a smokeless tobacco product called snus. The companies announced yesterday that they are forming a joint venture based in Sweden to sell snus in markets outside of Scandinavia and the U.S.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s proposal to pay for health care with higher cigarette taxes is dead, raising the specter of deeper spending cuts to close a $3.2 billion hole in the Virginia budget.

The cigarette tax was raised considerably in 2007 and may be raised again this year. One has to wonder whether it is more important to reduce rates of youth smoking or spend the amount of money on reducing youth smoking suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I have always thought that progress in improving health should be rewarded rather than panned. If our nation does not reach the 2010 Healthy People targets for smoking prevalence developed by a number of health-oriented governmental organizations, will the Lung Association accept the blame for the failure—regardless of whether a reduction took place?

A House of Delegates subcommittee rejected two bills yesterday that sought to increase Virginia’s cigarette excise tax, including Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s proposal to double the tax to 60 cents per pack. The House Finance subcommittee voted 8-2 to table that bill. The panel unanimously dismissed another bill backed by public-health groups that would have increased the tax to $1.19 per pack.

If the proper role of government is to coerce or browbeat the public into the correct behavior according to the majority, then Gov. Tim Kaine is exactly right to propose yet another tax on the people of Virginia. However, if, like me, you believe the role of government is limited to only those functions that are for the common good of all citizens, then you should be gravely concerned about the modern concept of attempting to establish by government policy what is best for the individual.

Business and tobacco interests said they will fight Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s latest attempt to prohibit smoking in Virginia restaurants, while public health groups are seeking a broader workplace ban. Saying he was “compelled by concern for the health and well-being of all Virginians,“ Kaine yesterday proposed a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants, including dining areas in public and private clubs. This is at least the third time Kaine has promoted such legislation.

The top cigarette company in the nation is also its top seller of smokeless tobacco. Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc., the parent company of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, said yesterday that it completed its $10.4 billion acquisition of UST Inc., maker of the top-selling premium moist snuff brands Skoal and Copenhagen. The acquisition, which includes the assumption of $1.3 billion in debt, gives Altria a leading position in the growing smokeless-tobacco category and a platform for potential growth as cigarette consumption declines in the United States.