ARE WE SERIOUS ABOUT KEEPING KIDS FROM SMOKING? All Editions.=.3 Star. 2 Star P. 2 Star B. 1 Star, Late. 1 Star Early

• Published in: The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)
• Main Author: BY C. EVERETT KOOP
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bergen County, N.J North Jersey Media Group Inc 03.09.1996

A recent study showed that young people are extremely susceptible to the lure of cigarette advertising - three times more susceptible than adults. And advertising is even more influential than peer pressure when it comes to getting kids to smoke. Eighty-six percent of children who smoke prefer the three most heavily advertised brands. Joe Camel, the cartoon character who appears in ads for Camel cigarettes, has been so popular with youngsters that Camel's market share among underage smokers has soared from 0.5 percent to 32.8 percent. Recently, President Clinton announced the first national policy, promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration, to restrict tobacco advertising targeted at children. The FDA rule would also prohibit the sale or giveaway of promotional items like caps or gym bags that carry cigarette or smokeless tobacco brand names or logos. Kids love this gear. The word "addiction" is anathema to tobacco executives. They will go to any lengths to avoid it, because it opens the door to nicotine regulation by the FDA. So they opted for a quick political compromise. They offered no resistance to the tougher warnings so long as the addiction warning was omitted.