around in this country as people were trying to, I guess, increase smoking cessation programs?

MALONEY: In the mid-'90s, there was a major crisis for the tobacco industry in the U.S. And it was a combination of a public relations nightmare coupled with massive lawsuits that came in an avalanche. And for the first time in the mid-'90s they were also facing the prospect of federal regulation. And all of that combined to make folks in the industry fear for the future of the industry. However, it didn't turn out to be that bad. They settled most of those major lawsuits, and the legislation that was passed in 2009 giving the FDA regulatory control over tobacco actually created a high barrier for entry to new players to the market.Mendelssohn Piano Trios

Itzhak Perlman Peforms in Richmond

Discover the power of live music with Richmond Symphony’s Altria Masterworks series. Featuring orchestral classics and contemporary composers, this series will inspire you. Itzhak Perlman opens the series with works by Mendelssohn on Sunday, September 25, 2016. LEARN MORE

Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 260 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 200,000 members of the community enjoy concerts, radio broadcasts, and educational outreach programs. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.