Cigarette makers could use a brand name to sponsor a sporting event only once a year. Smokers would likely see an increase of 35 to 40 cents per cigarette pack by 2003, she said. Because the agreement is narrower than a 1997 accord that ballooned into more expensive and failed federal legislation, it doesn't need congressional approval. The states involved in negotiating it were New York, California, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Carolina, Colorado, and North Dakota. Also signing on were Arizona, Iowa and Indiana.
Tobacco is Virginia's leading cash crop.