Tobacco Documents Online

4 iowa kssociauoa oY i oo~ck;o uIsIc rUMUs 200 S f HENS BUiLDING DES MOINES, IOWA 50308 i TELEPHONE 515-288-0248 GEORGE A. WILSON Executive Director OFFICER S JIM GORDON, President Des Moines STEVE FARNER,1 at Vice President Ames PAUL SCHIPPER, 2nd Vice President Waterloo ROBERTTHRASHER, Treasurer Burlington BOB BOCKEN, Secretary Fort Dodge EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ROBERT P. BELL Cedar Rapids R.M.CAUGHLAN Council Bluffs W.S.FARNER' Carroil' ROY FENSKE Spencer BENNETT GORDON Des Moines W. F. HEWETT Mason City FRANK LEISEROWITZ Des Moines H. EARL PALMER Belle Plaine JOE A. CAREW Dubuque TED FARNER Centerville WILLIAM GRAHAM Cedar Rapids VERN ROSS Spencer BOARD OF DIRECTORS SAM FARNER, Chairman Cedar Rapids WILLIAM GRAHAM Cedar Rapids ROBERTBOCKEN' Fort Dodge EDWARD GARST Fort Dodge GUY HEWETT Iowa Falls MARTYTHOMSEN Davenport GREG CAREW Dubuque JOHN NORGAARD Carroll JOHN CHAMPAGNE • Burlington. BILL PALMER. Belle Plaine GEORGE A. WILSON, III Asst. Exec. Dir. BETHENEINGLE December 27, 1982 seaetarY Mr. Samuel D. Chilcote, Jr. President The Tobacco Institute 1875 I Street, Northwest Washington, D. C. 20006 Dear Mr. Chilcote: We are in receipt of your letter dated December 17, 1982, in reference to the understanding of the relation- ship between the Iowa Association of Tobacco Distributors and The Tobacco Institute during the calendar year 1983. As I am sure you are aware, on December 14, 1982, Bob Hanrahan, your Vice President, met with~Mr. Bennett Gordon, Gordon's Wholesale, Inc. of Des Moines, Mr. William Farner, Farner-Bocken Co. of Carroll, and Mr. Joe Carew of Capital Myers-Cox Co., Dubuque, Iowa, an& myself, at which time we discusse&our 1atin.nrhwith The Tobacco Institute. Either your letter was wrjLten prior to Bob Hanrahan's report, or he failed to cotmmuni cate to you the resultfof th_ar mPPti.na, Mr. Hanrahari w-as.; askatl the question, "How do you see the Iowa Association of Tobacco Distributors' relationship to The Tobacco Institute's legislative program?'r He generally outlined what you have outlined in paragraph two of your letter. However, our ~ c ttee suggested that the contribution of $10,000 was not acce~a e an t at i a revision were ~t-ma e, we woul discontinue oytLrelationship with The Tobac~= - Institute and its programs in the State of Iowa. We are aware that the temporary tax increase on cigarettes from 13 to 18 cents per package will "sunset" on June 30, 1983. Due to the condition of the State Treasury, we know the le is a1<ure wi not allow this to happen. So, the question of a cigarette tax will be considered during the next session of our legislature! As we see it, this creates a number of additional

. 4. . ^ Mr. Samuel D. Chif te, Jr. December 27, 1982 Page 2 .prob-lems, which will also be addressed at the same time. They are as Tollows: l 1) Either make the tax permanent at 18 cents or an increase of some amount. 2) As raised in the 1982 Session, the question of prohibition on sampling of cigarettes in the state. The increase of a tax on other tobacco products, an item that had some support during the last session .,` . \ 4) S) As always present, the question of public smoking, and The answering of the question on the Unfair Cigarette Sales ~ Act. As you would expect, the last item has to be the number one priority of our Association. We have worked with the "grass roots" for the last two years on this issue. The other items are certainly of concern to us, as they would be to the entire tobacco industry. ~ If our relationship does not continue, you should understand that our primary responsibility will be to correct the prob lem of the Unfair Cigarette Sales Act, and The Tobacco Institute will assume the responsi- bility for the other items. We trust that you can understand our position as we do yours. We are, iy truly yours, / Georg . ilson Exec t' e Director GAW:bi