Bill Could Tamp Out Cigarette Marketing

R.J. Reynolds’ new Camel No. 9s arrived this month in a black package trimmed in fuchsia, the slim cigarettes stamped with a tiny pink dromedary. The No. 9s are, according to the floral advertising, “light and luscious,” and full-size packs are handed out free to women at bars.

“They’re cute,” said Samantha Brown, a 20-year-old North Carolina State University junior. “And they’re lighter. They are. It’s like smoking air.”

But the marketing of tobacco products would change under a bill in the U.S. Senate’s health committee. Ads in young people’s magazines would be stark. Gone would be the colorful posters at convenience stores. And the cigarettes couldn’t be offered in free sample packs of fewer than 20.

There would be no “light” cigarettes, like the No. 9.

The sweeping bipartisan bill introduced this month would authorize the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco for the first time in an effort, supporters say, to help current smokers quit and prevent youths from picking up the habit.

The legislation would put in place a set of 1996 rules on marketing that were blocked in 2000 when the Supreme Court ruled that existing law doesn’t allow the FDA to regulate tobacco.

It would require disclosure of cigarette ingredients to the federal government, and FDA approval of any claims that a cigarette poses a “reduced risk” to smokers. The bill also would allow the FDA to reduce harmful contents, including nicotine, though the administration would not be allowed to ban it.

“This is a very significant step,” said Paul Billings, vice president of national policy and advocacy for the American Lung Association. “This is the one thing the federal government can do to control marketing and selling the product to kids.”

Tobacco giant Philip Morris of Richmond, Va., supports the legislation, saying regulation would bring “predictability and clear standards” to the industry.

Other companies, including R.J. Reynolds of Winston-Salem, are opposed, saying the bill prevents them from going after other brands’ smokers in a shrinking market.

“The current environment is good for us to get this done this year,” said Wendy Selig, the vice president for legislative affairs for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network.

(c) 2007 Augusta Chronicle, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.