Now, Republicans Scratch Backs Back

When you hear Republican legislators brag about a bill that cracks down on teen tobacco use, check their wallets. Those wallets bulge with tobacco industry cash. And the bill is a fraud, a Trojan horse for the merchants of death.

Pending in the Washington state Legislature is a deceptive proposal that aims to gut anti-smoking programs and shield merchants who sell cigarettes to kids.

House Bill 1746 is the Legislature’s way of saying thanks for $147,000 the tobacco industry gave last year to the Republican Party and several key legislators. One is Cathy McMorris of Colville, who chairs the House committee that sponsors the bill. She received $2,250 of the industry’s money.

On the surface, HB 1746 looks attractive. It prohibits minors from possessing tobacco products. Violators could get a fine of up to $50.

Behind that facade, the bill attacks anti-tobacco programs run by local health districts all over the state. And, it will make it nearly impossible to punish stores that sell tobacco to minors.

Those provisions are more significant than the ban on possession of tobacco by minors. How likely is it, really, that cops overwhelmed with violent juvenile crime will find the time to nab kids for smoking?

Under current law, health districts, including Spokane’s, have interfered with Joe Camel’s business by making stores afraid to sell smokes to kids. On a regular basis, trained teenagers try to buy tobacco from area merchants; stores that sell to them receive citations that carry steep fines and jeopardize the stores’ license to sell tobacco to adults. Since 1994, when these sting operations began, the violation rate among Spokane County merchants has plunged from 29 percent to 15 percent.

HB 1746 will prohibit health districts from carrying out these stings. It also will exempt merchants from citations if they (wink, nudge) have trained workers to check customer ID and have posted warning signs in the store. In addition, the bill slashes funding for anti-tobacco lessons health districts now teach in public schools. These curricula, some taught by trained teenagers, show youngsters how tobacco advertising tries to manipulate them into becoming a new generation of nicotine addicts and cancer victims.

HB 1746 passed in the House and now awaits a vote in the Senate. Joe Camel must be so grateful to all his good Republican friends.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board