BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- A national anti-smoking group is publicly pressuring several local members of Congress to state their positions on comprehensive tobacco legislation.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, funded by the American Cancer Society and numerous prominent foundations, started running newspaper advertisements Tuesday in the Enquirer and the Post targeting Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati.
"Representative Chabot: Big Tobacco or Kids?" the ad's headline says as it depicts the Marlboro Man peering over two children with a picture of Mr. Chabot nearby.
Similar ads target Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville; Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio; and Republican Reps. Robert Ney of St. Clairsville and Deborah Pryce of Columbus.
They are among 23 members of Congress nationwide that the group is trying to influence.
"We're not trying to pick a fight with these congressmen or senators. We're trying to get them to do the right thing," said Bill Novelli, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "We're picking people that we think are going to carry a message back to their (congressional) leadership and people that we think are going to listen to our message."
The advertisements were launched as the group is trying to get the tobacco bill authored by Rep. John McCain, R-Ariz., or something close to it, passed in the House and Senate.
The McCain bill, which may come to the Senate floor as early as next week, would impose a $1.10-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes and extract an estimated $516 billion to $760 billion in various payments from the tobacco industry over the next 25 years.
The industry, which negotiated a proposed national tobacco settlement with state attorneys general in June 1997, is bitterly opposing the bill, saying it would bankrupt tobacco companies. Many congressional Republicans, especially in the House, do not want to pass a major tax increase.
Despite the pressure, Reps. Chabot and Strickland say they are opposed to a major tax increase on cigarettes as a way to curtail smoking.
Several other Cincinnati-area members also expressed reluctance to pass the kind of tax increase contained in the McCain bill.
"I am sick and tired of these special-interest groups telling me what to do," Mr. Strickland said. "I believe such a tax increase would be regressive. It would hurt working-class families in my district."
Mr. Strickland said he would support anti-smoking education programs and smoking cessation efforts to help the young.
Mr. Chabot doesn't want to see his two children or any other kids start smoking, said spokesman Gary Lindgren.
But, he added, "He is seriously concerned about a huge tax increase to fund bigger government programs."
An aide to Mr. DeWine said the senator wants some kind of major tobacco bill passed but is still studying the McCain bill. Mr. DeWine has long called for Congress to take action this year on youth smoking. DeWine aide Charles Boesel said the senator was surprised by the ads targeting him because he has been working with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "It is kind of curious," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Kathryn Kahler Vose, said of Mr. DeWine, "He needs to bring his brethren along."
Mr. Novelli said the group didn't think it would be a wise investment to target any advertising toward Kentucky members, given the strong support for the tobacco industry there.
Meanwhile, other Cincinnati-area members joined Mr. Chabot and Mr. Strickland in saying they oppose a McCain-type tax increase. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester, "is not at all convinced that the solution to this problem lies in passing a gigantic tax increase," said aide Dave Schnittger. Mr. Boehner is the fourth-ranking GOP House member.
Rep. Jim Bunning, R-Southgate, is also vehemently opposed to the McCain bill, his office said.
The legislation runs the risk of bankrupting the industry or forcing it overseas, leaving tobacco farmers without a market. "If there is to be a settlement, the first thing that has to be addressed is taking care of the farmers," said Bunning spokesman Jon Deuser. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, said he is still studying the economics of a tax increase but thinks a strong education effort aimed at youth attitudes would be effective in curtailing smoking.
