Reynolds American, R.J. Reynolds Oppose N.C. Smoking Ban
March 21 2007 - 2:11PM
PR Newswire (US)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Reynolds
American Inc. and its largest subsidiary, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Company, oppose passage of House Bill 259, a statewide smoking ban
currently under consideration in the North Carolina House of
Representatives. "We support reasonable public smoking restrictions
with common-sense exemptions for places such as private homes and
adult-only facilities like bars," said Tommy J. Payne, executive
vice president of public affairs for Reynolds American.
"Unfortunately, as currently written, this bill doesn't include
those common-sense exemptions. This bill would ban smoking in
virtually every bar, tavern and private club in the state of North
Carolina. "We estimate that more than 90 percent of public and
private areas in North Carolina would be smokefree even if the
legislature modifies the bill to permit smoking in adult-only
facilities," Payne said. "That's a more than reasonable
accommodation," he said. The companies are encouraging legislators
to either modify the bill to permit smoking in adult-only
facilities, or vote against it as currently written. Payne said the
bill, which is supported by the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging
Association, will place small businesses at a competitive
disadvantage. "We believe owners of bars, taverns and private clubs
should have the right to set smoking policies that suit their
clientele," Payne said. "Bar and tavern owners are generally small
businesspeople - we think they should have the right to decide
whether they want to allow smoking, not the government. In
supporting this bill, the restaurant association may be looking out
for their fine-dining establishments, but small businesses often
don't have the luxury of big profit margins to fall back on. "In
locations with total smoking bans, bar and tavern revenues have
often taken a nosedive, tips for wait staff dropped dramatically,
jobs have been cut, and in some cases, bars and taverns have been
forced to close," Payne said. Payne said the company is hoping
legislators keep in mind that most bars are adult-only venues;
children are not permitted to enter them and are thus protected
from exposure to secondhand smoke, and that adults patronizing bars
and nightclubs do so voluntarily. "A bar owner recently told us
that over the years, he'd had to throw a few people out, but he'd
never had to drag anyone in," Payne said. In addition to R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Company, Reynolds American's other North
Carolina-based facilities include a Santa Fe Natural Tobacco
Company manufacturing facility in Oxford, N.C., and two Conwood
Company facilities in Winston-Salem and Sanford, N.C. More than
4,000 North Carolinians work for Reynolds American or one of its
subsidiaries. ABOUT US Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE:RAI) is the
parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company; Conwood Company,
LLC; Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc; and R.J. Reynolds
Global Products, Inc. -- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the
second-largest U.S. tobacco company, manufactures about one of
every three cigarettes sold in the country. The company's brands
include five of the 10 best-selling U.S. brands: Camel, Kool,
Winston, Salem and Doral. -- Conwood Company, LLC is the nation's
second-largest manufacturer of smokeless tobacco products. Its
leading brands are Kodiak, Grizzly and Levi Garrett. Conwood also
sells and distributes a variety of tobacco products manufactured by
Lane, Limited, including Winchester and Captain Black little
cigars, and Bugler roll-your-own tobacco. -- Santa Fe Natural
Tobacco Company, Inc. manufactures Natural American Spirit
cigarettes and other additive-free tobacco products. -- R.J.
Reynolds Global Products, Inc. manufactures, sells and distributes
American-blend cigarettes and other tobacco products to a variety
of customers worldwide. Copies of RAI's news releases, annual
reports, SEC filings and other financial materials are available at
http://www.reynoldsamerican.com/. DATASOURCE: Reynolds American
Inc. CONTACT: Maura Payne, Vice President - Communications,
+1-336-741-6996, or Steve Kottak, Director - Communications,
+1-336-741-3372, or David Howard, Senior Manager - Communications,
+1-336-741-3489, all of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Web site:
http://www.reynoldsamerican.com/
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