Some 600,000 state employees, teachers and retirees should have received last week a packet describing the State Health Plan's new Wellness Initiative.

That's the program that says health insurance will be more expensive for smokers and the obese. Plan officials had an Oct. 1 deadline to get some information to members. The initiatives affect some 560,000 members — everyone except for those on Medicare.

The smoking initiative, which would include saliva tests for a sample of members to ensure nonsmokers really don't light up, goes into effect next year. The weight initiative, in which members must have a Body Mass Index lower than 40, ten points higher than the "obese" threshold, takes effect in 2011.

For both programs, trying to quit or to lose weight is enough to qualify participants for the cheaper insurance plan.

"What we know from the state division of public health is unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as tobacco use and weight management, they are the two leading causes of preventable death in North Carolina," said Anne Rogers, director of integrated health management for the State Health Plan. "There's a reason we chose these two particular lifestyle behaviors."

The legislature instituted the initiatives to help shore up the troubled plan. The idea is that smokers and obese people are a greater health risk and therefore more expensive for an insurance plan to cover.

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Gov. Beverly Perdue has signed 59 of 108 bills on her desk as of this morning.

Perdue has 49 more bills to go, reports Gerry Cohen, the legsislature's bill drafting director on his Drafting Musings blog. The legislature left the pile of bills for Perdue, who by law, has 30 days to sign or veto them. The state has no pocket veto, so if the bills aren't signed by Sept. 11, they become law.

Cohen is keeping a running tab of bills signed. 

The new laws increase state oversight for fireworks display operators, establish tougher rules for using handicapped parking placards, ensure sex offenders can't drive a school bus and allow magistrates to carry a gun in a courthouse.

Still to be signed are bills that would make online bullying a misdemeanor, ban recreational use of an hallicinogenic herb, and ban smoking and cell phones in prisons. 

It's looking an awful lot like Gov. Beverly Perdue won't be having a ceremonial bill signing for the state budget.

Perdue has had ceremonies for a handful of bills this session, notably the ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. While no announcement has been made yet, there are an awful lot of reasons why she won't be hauling reporters and VIPs in to sign the bill into law.

The story line coming from House and Senate Democrats is that no one is happy about the budget, which spends $19 billion and raise $990 million in new taxes. Perdue has said she would sign the budget into law with reservations. She called for even more tax revenue to protect education from cuts.

So far, Perdue's office has announced a couple of unrelated events for Friday. Republicans were probably disappointed to see they wouldn't be able to get footage of Perdue signing a tax increase.

Republican Party chairman Tom Fetzer had planned to blast Democrats after the bill signing. He gave up Thursday.

"I don’t think you’ll see anyone clamoring for the pen that was used to sign this year’s budget. No one associated with the passage of this budget should be proud," Fetzer said in a statement.

An effort to exempt hookah bars from the new statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants appears to be dead for this year.

James Romoser reports in the Winston-Salem Journal that Rep. Cullie Tarleton is dropping his bill to exempt hookah bars from the ban, which goes into effect in January.

Tarleton pulled the bill after hookah bar owners objected to amendements to the bill that they said would put unfair restrictions on them.

NOBODY LIKES NOBODY: The popularity recession has settled in for most N.C. politicians. Gov. Beverly Perdue, with basement-dwelling approval ratings less than six months into her first term, travelled the state to rally support from unimpressed teachers and Democrats. The raspberries are bipartisan: both U.S. Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr's numbers are down. President Barack Obama is slipping, and his policies are less popular than the man.

SPARE A FEW THOUSAND DIMES? One state resident isn't worried about layoffs. Jeff Wilson of Kings Mountain took home $29 million, after taxes, when his father gave him a Powerball ticket that hit the jackpot. (Gotta figure Wilson is apologizing for having ignored any past fatherly advice). We get this question a lot, so before you ask, the lottery can't fix the state's budget problems because it raises only a small fraction of the state's education spending and state law mandates lottery profits go to four specific programs.

PLASTICS, PESTERING AND POTTY TIPPING: The legislature has been on an outlawing binge. It has banned plastic bags on the coast, bullying in schools and vandalizing portable toilets.

IN OTHER NEWS: The state got most of its deposit money back for a private jet officials decided not to buy after all. A new film production tax credit would lose money for the state at first. And Obama does still occasionally smoke, but that's not why he signed into law sweeping new regulatory authority over cigarettes.

President Barack Obama says he is "95 percent cured" of his habit of smoking cigarettes.

During a presidential press conference at The White House this afternoon, Obama was asked about his smoking habits in light of legislation he signed this week to allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products.

Obama initially tried to steer the question back to the law, saying it is about stopping "the next generation of kids" from beginning smoking. But then he agreed to talk about his own battle with smoking.

"I constantly struggle with it," Obama said.

Obama said he does not smoke every day, and that he does not smoke in front of his children or other family members.

"I am 95 percent cured, but there are times when I mess up," he said.

The managers of the state employees health insurance plan asked for guidance from lawmakers about identifying smokers in the plan.

Legislators earlier this year approved a new policy that would force plan members who smoke or are excessively obese to pay higher out of pocket costs. The Senate Select Committee on Employee Hospital and Medical Benefits heard options from State Health Plan administrator Jack Walker, the Associated Press reports. He said the health plan would use a saliva test at random on employees who say they don't smoke to determine whether they're telling the truth.

Walker said those found to be lying would be sent to a less generous plan but suggested regulators could increase their deductibles or remove them from the plan entirely for up to 12 months. Senators were concerned that a whole family could lose their insurance if only one member smoked.

Gov. Beverly Perdue signed into law a sweeping ban on smoking in most bars and restaurants across the state.

Perdue signed the bill in the old House chamber in the state Capitol as more than 125 lawmakers, advocates and guests looked on and cheered.

"This is really in no exaggeration of the word an absolutely historic day for this great state that was built initially on the backbone of tobacco," Perdue said.

The smoking ban takes effect in January and applies to the inside portions of nearly all bars and restaurants. There are narrow exceptions for cigar bars, and private clubs such as country clubs and VFW halls.

Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat, who has been pushing for a smoking ban for five years, began with a bill that would ban smoking in all indoor public places. He said he was proud of the new law.

"I think this bill is a huge step forward for public health," Holliman said.

* Another way she differs from her predecessor: Gov. Beverly Perdue works to win over the Charlotte business crowd.

* The smoking ban is being held up temporarily while the state Senate works to make sure that movie stars could still light up on set.

* A spokesman for Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton says that — to the best of his knowledge — he's not related to the new Miss USA.

* Though Sen. Richard Burr is polling at low levels, consultants argue the die won't be cast until the political environment is clear.