Cigarettes

Since 1971, the cigarette industry has not been allowed to advertise on radio and television. However, the ban has not worked as well as it was planned to work. The reasons are that advertisements are not the primary reason that teens take up smoking. Another reason is that the industry has gotten around the ban by using forms of hidden advertising and corporate sponsorship. The industry has also heavily relied on the print media to advertise its product. Smoking has become influential due to many different forms of advertising.

Up until 1971, cigarettes had been advertised like any other consumer product, but health concerns led to a government-imposed ban on broadcast advertising. "July 27, 1965, Congress approved the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act. The Federal Cigarette Labeling Act and Advertising Act was passed to establish a comprehensive program to deal with cigarette labeling and advertising" (Holak 220). "This law made it impossible for any person to manufacture, import or package cigarettes without the following statement clearly labeled on the box: Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous To Your Health" (Altman 95). Any person or company that was found guilty of violating this Act upon conviction was subject to a fine of not more then ten thousand dollars. Cigarettes manufactured or packaged for export form the United States

were not required to label this. The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act took effect on January 1, 1996.

Four years later, Congress approved another Act: the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1996. There were two major changes. First, the statement required on cigarette packages was changed to "Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous To Your Health" (Altman 97). Second, it stated that after January 1, 1971 it shall be unlawful to advertise cigarettes on any medium of electronic communication.

Fifteen years later, Congress approved the comprehensive Smoking Education Act. This Act was yet another amendment to the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act. Once again the statement required that all cigarette packages to be changed. The packages must now have one of the following labels: "SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy" or "SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks To Your Health" or "SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result In Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight" and lastly "SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide" (Brann 10). The main purpose for this was to provide a new strategy for making American's aware of any adverse health

effects of smoking and to make individuals more informed about smoking and its risks.

The Comprehensive Smoking Education Act took effect on January 1, 1985. "The Comprehensive Smoking Education Act requires that each person who manufactures, packages, or imports cigarettes shall annually provide the committee with a list of the ingredients added to tobacco in the manufacture of cigarettes which does not identify the company which uses the ingredients or brand of cigarettes which contain the ingredients" (Brann 4).

Joe Camel, a cartoon caricature, used to represent a brand of cigarettes, became a key advertising figure. According to the Federal Trade Commission, "Unfair methods of competitionÐ'...and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, are declared unlawful" (Mizecki 60). It was within their power to ban Joe Camel, due to unfair advertising practice because the campaign attracted children and adolescents to a harmful product, that they are not legally of age to purchase or consume. "A selective ban on Joe Camel advertising is preferable constitutionally to a more general ban on cigarette advertising, because it will not prevent the dissemination of advertising and information, but instead focuses on a particular ad campaign that has been shown to hold greater appeal for children than it does for adults" (Mizecki 58).

"In 1997,The Federal Drug Administration's goal was to cut young people's tobacco use in half over seven years. It would eliminate vending

machines and would require purchasers to prove they are at least eighteen years old and close off underage access to cigarettes" (Brann15). The FDA plan also called for a restriction of cigarette advertising. "The FDA advertising provisions which would take effect in a year would: (a) Outlaw cigarette and chewing tobacco billboards within one-thousand feet of schools and public playgrounds. (b) Require all other tobacco billboards to be in black and white and use words only. No color, no pictures. Same for ads in and on buses. (c) Limit tobacco ads to black and white and text only publications with a significant youth readership. That would be any magazine or newspaper with either more than fifteen percent of its total readership under age eighteen or more than two million readers under eighteen. (d) Store check out counters and other places where tobacco products are sold also would be restricted to black and white text ads except in locations such as nightclubs where young people are not allowed. (e) Prohibit the sale or giveaway of caps, gym bags and other items bearing the brand name or log of a cigarette or smokeless product. (f) Ban teams or entries or entertainment events. Corporate names, such as, Philip Morris, would be permitted" (Brann 174). However, the FDA's plan did not go unnoticed. A judge ruled that the FDA could not ban tobacco billboards within one thousand feet of a school or playground, limits in teen oriented magazines and a ban on hats, t-shirts, and other material with cigarette names.

Cigarettes are one of the most heavily marketed consumer products in the United States. "Tobacco companies currently spend almost six billion dollars a year to promote

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