By LAURA MECKLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is set to launch a $7 million advertising campaign aimed at reminding stores that it is against the law to sell tobacco to teens.
Print and radio ads begin running in Arkansas today, the one-year anniversary of new federal rules barring the sale of cigarettes to those under age 18. Ten other states will see ads this spring, with the rest of the country expected to join the campaign later in the year, Vice President Al Gore said Friday in announcing the campaign.
''Cigarettes are so bad for you that even selling them can be hazardous,'' says one advertisement.
Also Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services released a new state-by-state report showing that young people have little trouble buying cigarettes despite a crackdown.
In the typical state, four out of 10 teen-agers successfully left convenience stores, gas stations and groceries with cigarettes. Half the states did better than that and half did worse.
The report is a progress check on efforts to meet a federal law that requires states to reduce their sales of tobacco to minors over the next few years to 20 percent of those who try to buy it. The deadline varies by state, depending on how far they have to go, but all states must reach that goal by 2003 or lose federal grants for substance abuse and mental health programs.
So far, four states - Florida, Maine, New Hampshire and Washington - have met the 20 percent target.
Florida was doing the best in the nation, with teen-agers acting as covert inspectors able to buy tobacco just 7.2 percent of the time. In Louisiana, by contrast, teens got cigarettes 72.7 percent of the time.
Louisiana officials said they have already improved the numbers recorded during the 1997 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. A follow-up study showed teens succeeded in buying just 39 percent of the time.
''The department instituted a very aggressive program, including a public awareness campaign and aggressive enforcement,'' said Rusty Jabour, spokesman for Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals. It involved more compliance checks, a letter from the governor to 18,000 merchants and ads on radio, television and in newspapers, he said.
Florida's success is due to strong efforts by state officials who have ''been at it longer. They take it very seriously,'' said Mitch Zeller, a tobacco specialist with the federal Food and Drug Administration.
The sting operation involves teen-agers who attempt to buy cigarettes and chewing tobacco. If a clerk asks for identification, they say they don't have any with them. Since 1996, more than 60,000 merchants have been checked.
Jessica Goh, a 16-year-old Florida spot checker, said she is always glad when a merchant won't sell her cigarettes, but added, ''If I catch one person, that's one less person to worry about.''
Meanwhile, the FDA is working to enforce its year-old rules barring sales to minors. It has signed contracts with 11 states to inspect stores, and those states will see the new advertising campaign. They are Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
Gore on Friday repeated his call for comprehensive legislation settling claims against the tobacco industry. ''With a cynical and calculated campaign aimed directly at children to try to purposely get them hooked, we have to take action as a country to stop this,'' he said.
By ANNA DOLGOV
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) - At a disco party in a covered stadium, thousands of young people sway to booming music. Once in a while, somebody breaks from the neon-lit crowd to take free cigarettes from the smiling women who stroll the corridor outside.
Sponsored by Camel cigarettes, the party is one of the many promotions by Western tobacco companies that are aggressively marketing their products in one of the world's most smoker-friendly nations.
With fewer people lighting up in the United States and tobacco companies on the defensive, cigarette manufacturers are expanding in Russia to compensate for lost sales at home.
They have received a warm welcome in Russia, where at least 50 percent of the people smoke, consumers are hungry for most things Western and tobacco taxes are low.
And unlike the United States and other countries that limit or ban cigarette advertising, there are few effective controls on marketing tobacco products in Russia.
Almost anything goes. In the hinterlands, where entertainment is scarce, Western tobacco companies offer young Russians free admission to parties if they buy a pack of cigarettes.
Billboards all over Russia feature pictures of skyscrapers and white sandy beaches and slogans like ''Total Freedom'' or ''Rendezvous with America.'' They aren't advertising foreign travel - but American cigarette brands like Camel, Winston and Marlboro.
At shows and presentations, young women with trays of cigarettes walk around the audience offering free smokes.
''It's a very important market for us ... because smoking has a long-standing tradition in Russia,'' said Axel Gietz, spokesman for the main European office of R.J. Reynolds, the maker of Camel cigarettes.
No one under age 18 is admitted to Camel-sponsored discos, he said.
''Every time an underage person is caught smoking, we are blamed, and it is used as an (excuse) for even stricter laws on marketing,'' Gietz said in a telephone interview from Geneva, Switzerland. ''So it certainly does not help our business to encourage minors to smoke.''
Western-made cigarettes are far milder than Russian ones, which use harsh tobacco. As a result, foreign firms have done well in Russia, with the Americans leading the pack.
R.J. Reynolds, one of the biggest foreign players in the Russian market, has seen its sales double each year for the past three years, reaching $351 million in 1997, Gietz said.
Russia has relatively strict laws on the books to limit tobacco advertising - but no functioning legal or monitoring system to enforce them. Television tobacco ads were banned in 1995. But direct marketing and billboard advertising have increased to make up for the loss.
''In all civilized countries, they passed this stage a long time ago and have long since established'' limits on tobacco advertising, said Tatyana Kamardina, senior researcher at the government's Institute for Preventive Medicine in Moscow.
''Tobacco companies have huge funds, and they spend them on converting people,'' Kamardina said.
Doctors and health-minded people may warn against smoking, but they are in the minority in Russia. Most Russians consider smoking a relatively innocent indulgence, especially compared to the binge drinking, poor diet and frequent accidents that give Russian men the lowest life expectancy in the industrialized world.
Although the harmful effects of smoking are well known in Russia, they haven't really struck a chord in a country where most people are just looking for some comfort in their lives.
''Smoking in Russia is more than smoking,'' comedian Igor Ugolnikov said on his late-night TV show. ''It's not about the ruinous craving for tobacco, but about the constant stress and upheavals.
''You open a fresh newspaper, and immediately you open a new pack. And like that, on the nerves, day after day, pack after pack. Here, just recently, during the stock market crisis, one banker got so nervous he smoked a whole stack of dollars by mistake.''
Russians buy more than 11 billion packs of cigarettes a year, of which 4 billion are imports, said Vladimir Aksyonov, spokesman for British American Tobacco in Moscow.
''In Russia, the tendency is clearly in favor of American blends,'' Aksyonov said.
Russian companies aren't happy about that and are stepping up their own advertising.
Russia's leading tobacco company recently put up billboards adorned with the slogan ''Strike Back'' and a picture of its Yava cigarettes hovering like a spaceship over New York.
Russian brands also have a price advantage. At the equivalent of about 50 cents a pack, Russian cigarettes are much cheaper than Western brands, which run up to $2. In a country where the average monthly salary is about $200, Russian brands still sell well.
Not all Russians embrace smoking, and some don't appreciate the advertisers' ingenuity.
''The foreign companies have not been producing fewer cigarettes, yet smoking in the West has fallen,'' said Vladimir Dmitriyev, a Muscovite. ''So where are they selling all their cigarettes? Right here.''
LURAY, Va. (AP) - People longing to move from the hectic big cities to the serene countryside may get a reality check before buying their dream house in Page County.
A proposed disclaimer warns all potential buyers that if they really want to live in the country, they must be prepared to live with the smells and other annoyances that go along with life among farmers and livestock.
The ordinance, which the county board asked the planning commission to draft by the end of March, is an offshoot of the Right to Farm Act passed by the General Assembly in 1995. The act keeps counties from using special use permits to stop farm expansions in agriculture zones when neighbors protest.
The committee drafting the plan, which met for the first time last week includes an artist, an optometrist, a businessman and a farmer.
Supervisor Robert Good said that in a county with more than 500 chicken houses, the biggest complaint about farming he hears about is the odor from manure or litter being stored and spread on fields as fertilizer.
Too often, people experience a rude awakening after they settle into Page County, said Jerry Turner, a farmer who manages six poultry houses on his farm south of Luray and came up with the idea for the local ordinance.
''They come up here on a Saturday with a real estate agent and look at a piece of property that's in the countryside and is beautiful,'' Turner said. ''Then they buy the property and say, 'I didn't see that chicken litter being spread when we came up here to visit. I didn't hear that equipment running.''
Page County is the state's fourth-largest producer of farm products, with one-third of its land used for agriculture. Its population of 23,000 is growing less than 1 percent a year. But because it's only 90 miles from Washington, residents believe the migration of city folks will increase in the near future.
The document that buyers would have to sign is being modeled after one in Carroll County, Md., about 30 miles north of Baltimore. Along with the buyer beware notice, the document includes a disclaimer: No farm will be protected if it fails to follow generally accepted agriculture practices or poses a health hazard.
A Carroll County resident with a grievance about his neighbor's farming activity can lodge a complaint that is investigated and, if necessary, go before a ''reconciliation committee.'' All but a few complaints have been resolved before going to committee, said Bill Powell, secretary of Carroll County's agricultural commission.
Turner said that the ordinance requiring the signed document would benefit both farmers and rural residents because it would ''cut out the surprises'' that can lead to bad feelings among neighbors.
Alfie Porreca, a potter, moved into a house next to a poultry farm near Luray in 1993 and found the ''helicopter'' noise from the giant fans unbearable. Rather than complain to the county, however, Porreca talked to the farmer and he agreed to move the fans to the other side of the poultry houses.
When the smell is bad on certain days, Porreca said he just closes his windows and turns on the air conditioner.
''I knew what I was getting into,'' Porreca, chairman of the committee drafting the ordinance, said. ''But some people move here and then find out they're downwind from a poultry farm and their dream home becomes a living hell.''
The Halifax War Memorial Commission roll published today lists over 600 local soldiers' killed during American conflicts or wars with the hope families or friends of those not listed will contact the Commission's research committee.
The memorial roll is found in the Gazette-Virginian on newstands today and includes soldiers who gave their lives in service to their country from the American Revolution through Desert Storm.
The research committee is still trying to find names of soldiers who belong on the list.
"This committee asks that anyone who has a family member or ancestor who died while in service during any American war or conflict review the list published in today's paper," said research committee chairman Ronnie Guthrie.
If anyone has a name that should be listed, Guthrie asked that the name, with any documentation available, be sent to: The Halifax War Memorial Committee, P.O. Box 24, Halifax, Va. 24558, or call Ronnie Guthrie at 572-2569 or Sarah Spell at 349-6318.
The Halifax War Memorial Commission has been working on the design and research for the memorial to be located on Halifax Courthouse Square for over a year. The fund-raising phase of this project to permanently honor the county's fallen sons and daughters is underway.
The fund-raising committee, chaired by Cleve Wilborn, is tasked with raising approximately $125,000 to memorialize those who made the supreme sacrifice. Anyone desiring to make a donation should make checks payable to: Halifax County War Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 310, Halifax, Va. 24558. Contributions are tax deductible.
A 27-year old Danville man, Robert "Green Eyes" Pannell, will be serving a total of five years in jail for attempted first degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Pannell and his court-appointed attorney Buddy Ward appeared Friday in Circuit Court to enter an Alford plea of guilt before retired Judge Gerald Clemmons.
The convicted was arrested September 12, 1997, and charged with attempted capital murder by Sgt. Richard Pulliam with the Tri-County Task Force, five months after the offense involving the victim, Eddie Clark.
Judge Clemmons sentenced Pannell to 10 years and suspended eight for attempted murder and added three years for the firearm offense bringing to five the total number of years he must serve.
Pannell is looking at two more years in jail on an unrelated charge and possibly faces more charges in neighboring Charlotte County.
A jailhouse clash last month between an inmate from New York and an inmate from Virgilina resulted in a malicious wounding charge, according to the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
Altimont Mark Wilks, 27, formerly of Brooklyn, New York, was charged Friday with a felony count of malicious wounding, Major Ray Link said.
The incident occurred in the Halifax County Jail on January 11. Wilks allegedly assaulted fellow inmate Charles David Cole.
Wilks has been held without bond since his December 19, 1997 arrest on numerous felony cocaine distribution charges. He and three other people were arrested at Westside Village Apartments in Sinai by agents of the Tri-County Regional drug Task Force.
Wilks is scheduled to appear for his preliminary hearing on the malicious wounding charge in the Halifax County General District Court on April 3.
In other arrests:
· Wade Linwood Clark, 40, of Halifax was charged Saturday with a misdemeanor count of assault and battery of Catherine Davis, a household or family member.
He was also charged with a misdemeanor count of destruction of personal property with the intent to remove household items belonging to Davis, police said.
The alleged incidents occurred Saturday, according to the investigation.
Clark was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on March 11. He was arrested by Deputies Q.W. Clark and J.L. Lucia.
· Tina C. Tuck, 26, of South Boston was arrested Friday on three misdemeanor charges stemming from incidents which occurred last year, police said.
Tuck was charged with assaulting Lisa Bracey; assaulting Janice Bowman with a threat to do bodily harm; and trespassing on the property of Lisa Bracey.
The alleged incidents involving Bracey occurred on July 14, 1997, while the alleged assault of Bowman occurred on November 10, 1997, police said.
Tuck was released on bond pending her trial in the Halifax County General District Court on April 3. She was arrested by Deputy Clark.
· Matthew D. Stacey, 18, of Halifax was charged with a misdemeanor count of assault and battery of Christie Stacey, a household or family member.
The alleged offense occurred Saturday and he was arrested the same day by Sgt. J.K. Henderson.
Stacey was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on March 11.
· Edward Simon Wilson, 48, of South Boston was charged with a misdemeanor count of assault and battery of Norma Jean Coleman.
The alleged incident occurred on February 20 and he was arrested Friday by Deputy Clark.
Wilson was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County General District Court on March 20.
· Angela Lacks, 28, of Randolph was charged Friday with a misdemeanor count of trespassing on the property of Lawrence Easley after previously having been forbidden to do so.
The alleged incident occurred on February 22, according to the investigation.
She was released on bond pending her trial in the Halifax County General District Court on April 3. Lacks was arrested by Deputy S.A. Moore.
The Court of Appeals of Virginia denied an appeal in the murder case of Robert Lewis Clay of Alton, who was convicted of murdering his wife two years ago.
Judge Joseph E. Baker of the state court ruled that hearsay evidence from testimony of Thelma Burns and Carlos Ragland was admissible in the case against the former employee of Virginia Power.
The two witnesses testified that Mrs. Clay had planned to move to North Carolina prior to her murder and was "afraid of appellant (Mr. Clay) and what he might do to her."
The testimony from Burns and Ragland was admissible under the "state-of-mind" exception to the hearsay rule.
Clay remains in prison, but has 14 days from the date of the Court of Appeals of Virginia's ruling to demand consideration from a three-judge panel for any possible future appeals.
Elmer Lee Womack of 3106 Mountain Road, Halifax died February 26, 1998 at his home at the age of 70.
Mr. Womack was born in Halifax County on January 13, 1928, the son of Herman Lee Womack and Tassie Nash Womack. He was married to Inez Clark Womack and was a member of Mount Vernon Baptist church.
His survivors include his wife; three sisters: Odell Younger of Nathalie, Marie Alderson of Vernon Hill and Kathryn Perkins of Halifax; three brothers: Hugh Womack of Halifax, Harold Womack of Vernon Hill and Robert Womack of Pelham, NC.
Funeral services were held Sunday, March 1 at Powell Funeral Home chapel with the Dr. William Trimyer officiating. Burial took place in the Halifax Memorial Gardens.
Sherman Dance of Brooklyn, NY, formerly of Halifax County, passed away on Wednesday, February 18, 1998 at the Beekman-Dowtown Hospital in New York City, NY at the age of 75.
Mr. Dance was born in Halifax County on June 5, 1922.
His survivors include his three sons: Sherman Black, Jerome Black of Bronx, NY and Lendell Vaughn of Brooklyn, NY; two daughters: Janice D. Brown and Velma Dance of Chicago, IL; a sister: Rosa D. Lyons of Mitchellsville, MD; and a brother: James Dance of Halifax.
Graveside services were held Saturday, February 28 at the Coleman Family cemetery with the Rev. Ronald Cunningham officiating.
Audrey Anna Geyer Fleischer of 1045 Newbill School Road, Crystal Hill, died February 27, 1998 at Haifax Regional Hospital at the age of 82.
Mrs. Fleischer was born in Baltimore, MD on August 28, 1915, the daughter of the late Frank Adam Geyers Sr. and Minnie Alverta Geyer. She was married to William Norris Fleischer and was one of Jehovah's Witnesses for 57 years.
Her survivors include her husband; daughter and son-in-law: Jean and Douglas Stacy of Alton; granddaughter and her husband: Rebekah Jean and Allan G. Howell Jr. of Lebanon; two brothers: Marvin A. Geyer of Baltimore and Frank Geyer Jr. of Pasadena, MD.
She was predeceased by a brother: Earl Geyer and sister, Mary Geyer.
Funeral services will be held today, March 2 at 2 p.m. at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses with Brother Douglas Stacy and Brother Byron Chappell officiating. Burial will take place in Halifax Memorial Gardens.
Elnora Scott Spann of Washington, DC died February 27, 1998 at her residence at the age of 78.
Mrs. Spann was born in Halifax County on January 9, 1920, the daughter of the late Willie Scott and Evelyn McKinley Garner Scott. She was a former member of the New Shiloh Baptist Church.
Her survivors include her brother: Sandy Scott of Nathalie; two sisters-in-law, Mrs. Clarise Scott of Nathalie and Mrs. Inez Scott of Appomattox.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 4 at 1 p.m. at the New Shiloh Baptist Church, Nathalie with the Rev. Bobby Harris conducting the service. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The body will lie-in-state one hour prior to the service.
The family will receive friends at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Sandy Scott, 1227 Rabat Rd., Nathalie.