“Virginia is for Lovers” was introduced in 1969 and has enjoyed enduring popularity and global recognition, but legislation before the 2006 General Assembly proposes to replace it with “Biting the Hand that Feeds.” The proposal is attached to SB 648, which would ban smoking in most public areas, including restaurants.

Virginia is the third largest tobacco grower in the country, tobacco is one of Virginia’s most profitable crops, and Philip Morris’ Richmond factory produces approximately 700 million cigarettes per day. In 2004, Virginia increased the state tax per pack from 2.5 cents to 30 cents (HB 5018). Prior to the increase, annual tax revenue from cigarettes was $15 million. The tax increase is projected to yield Virginia an additional $130 million annually.

Competing bills for the slogan’s replacement include HB 2044: “Do As I Say, Not As I Do,” and SB 1026: “Virginia is for Hypocritical Dickheads.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 19th, 2006 at 10:34 am and is filed under General Swim. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.