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Smoking
rights
under
fire
by Leslie Guy
CAUTION: The Surgeon General
has determined that cigarette smoking
may be hazardous to your health.
This type of phrase has appeared
on the packages of all cigarettes since
January 1966, when the federal
Cigarette Labeling and Advertising
Act of 1965 took effect mandating the
Surgeon General’s warning.
Since that time, the Surgeon
General’s office has issued numerous
warnings about the link between
smoking and lung cancer and the
danger cigarette smoke causes to
nonsmokers. In addition, state and
federal legislation has been passed
requiring no smoking areas in
restaurants, and many states have
outlawed smoking entirely in schools,
government buildings and health
facilities.
And a bill is currently in the U.S.
House of Representatives which
would eliminate advertisements and
promotion of tobacco products.
On the other side of the issue, the
tobacco companies have won several
court cases, on the state level, freeing
them from liability to the families of
smokers who have died.
Americans are becoming more
aware of the dangers of smoking and
the move is on to change policies
about this potentially deadly habit.
What does the future hold for the
tobacco growers, the cigarette
industries and the nonsmokers who
are concerned for their own health?
The answer is unclear, but recent
actions by state governments and
various businesses indicate that the
situation could change.
The American Cancer Society and
the American Heart Association have
teamed up with the Surgeon General
and hope to have a “smoke-free
society” by the year 2000.
Lisa Lunsford, district manager of
the Cancer Society, says they are
focusing their efforts on the preschool
students, who will graduate from high
school in 2000.
“We have kits and videos that we
show in the schools,” Lunsford says.
“We show them the hazards to
prevent them from smoking later. ”
Although the labels presently on
cigarette packages probably have little
effect on smokers, other factors
discourage people from smoking,
Lunsford says.
“People know when they start
smoking that it is bad for you, ” she
says. “But smokers are being
discouraged because they have no
rights. Their habit affects other people,
including their families. ”
A major concern of both
associations is the effect of smoke on
the passive nonsmoker. The,
involuntary smoker (the nonsmoker)
breathes less smoke than a smoker,
but two percent of the 2,400 lung
cancer deaths involved nonsmokers,
she says.
As a result of pressure from
nonsmokers and the publication of the
effects of smoking, 41 states and
about 400 municipalities have
responded and now limit or restrict
smoking in public places, Lunsford
says. In Texas, smoking is banned in
elevators, public transportation,
educational, cultural and health
facilities, government work places and
U.S. Army buildings, she says.
“I used to work at Fort Hood, and
when you have 40,000 soldiers and
30,000 of them smoke, you’ve got a
battle,” she says.
In addition, 36 percent of all private
employers have some policy about
smoking, she says. Hotels, motels and
car rental agencies reserve more
facilities for nonsmokers.
“Businesses have designated
smoking areas and employers are
cracking down,” she says. “People are
quitting because it is not socially
acceptable. ”
Dr. Elvin Smith, a professor of
medical physiology at A&M believes
the nonsmoking public is now much
more aggressive in defense of their
rights. He says the risk of heart disease
is directly related to the number of
cigarettes a person smokes and the
amount of smoke a nonsmoker
inhales.
“The nonsmoking public is
demanding that its rights be
respected, ” Smith says. “When a
nonsmoker is in a room full of smoke,
he is forced to breathe it. That smoke
increases his risk (of cancer or heart
disease), no matter what amount of
smoke he breathes.”
Therefore, they are urging
legislation which would give them
freedom from the smoke. Smith is
pleased that smoking has been
banned in many public places,
including public school campuses and
airline flights shorter than two hours.
The tobacco industry and growers
have seen many changes since the
warning label was required. But even
if the nonsmokers succeed at
outlawing smoking in public places
everywhere, there is still no guarantee
the tobacco groups will suffer much.
In an effort to control the amount of
legislation against smoking, the
Tobacco Institute, a trade association
representing the tobacco indutries,
disseminates information representing
the companies’ points of view and
lobbies on federal, state and local
levels, and informs industries about
current legislation.
Brennan Moran, assistant to the
vice president of the Tobacco
Institute, says the sales for the
industries have not changed during
the 1980s so far. They experience a 1
percent drop each year, a minute
figure for such a large industry, she
says.
“Nothing in the cards indicates
dramatic change in the future,” Moran
Although smoking is banned in Texas in elevators, vehicles of
public transportation, educational, cultural and health facilities,
government work places and U.S. Army buildings, smokers still
enjoy their cigarettes in a number of public places, such as bars.
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says. “This is a historically strong
industry and the future looks as if it
will stay the same. ”
Another obstacle the industries face
is the banning of cigarette
advertisements and promotions. The
effect on the growers and
manufacturers is still uncertain.
Moran says the companies’ ad
campaigns currently focus on
convincing smokers to switch brands
of cigarettes. The industries are always
looking for new brands and new types
of cigarettes to appeal to people.
Mike Synar, D-Okla., is promoting
a bill to ban all advertisements,
sponsorships and promotions by
cigarette companies.
Melinda McCrocken, a staff
assistant to Synar, believes the
companies try to attract new smokers.
“They are spending $2 billion a
year to get people to change brands, ”
McCrocklin says. “That comes out to
$355 per person, which is a lot just to
get someone to switch brands. Each
company owns many brands, so they
aren’t trying to get people to change.
They are trying to get people to start. ”
A large majority of people in the
United States who smoke start before
the age of 17, McCrocklin says. The
companies target their ads for this
group, yet in many states it is illegal for
people under age 16 to buy cigarettes.
Smith also favors the banning of
cigarette advertisements because
public tax money is being used to
support the tobacco industry.
“The industries write off ads on
their tax returns, and the taxpayers
subsidize this,” Smith says. “I violently
object to the ads.
“The tobacco companies have to
recruit 2 million new smokers each
year to replace those who die or quit,
and the only logical place to recruit is
the young people,” he says.
They deliberately focus their ads on
the young people because older
people are probably not going to start
smoking now, Smith says.
On the other hand, Ronnie L.
Woodard, a tobacco farmer from
Selma, N.C., opposes banning ads
because it will lead to the banning of
other freedoms.
“I have a relative in Massachusetts
who said all smoking is banned (in his
town),” he says. “The only place you
can smoke is in your car, home or
office, but not in any public place. This
will affect the future and I am
definitely against it. ”
Despite a decrease in the number
of smokers, Woodard will have one of
his largest crops this year, about 52
acres on which he grows 2000-2300
pounds of tobacco per acre.
“The companies bought our
tobacco strongly all last year, ” he says.
“They had cut our quota for the last
few years, and I’m not sure if there
was a decrease in demand or an
increase in imports. But it is working
itself out. ”
Mark Fleming, a legislative assistant
to Senator Jesse Helms, R-N.C, says
the senator supports the tobacco farm
programs.
“As smoking declines, we must find
other markets for the tobacco, ”
Fleming says. “There is a huge market
overseas. The demand (for tobacco)
in the U.S. has decreased, but the
exports have increased a whole lot. ”
He also opposes the proposed 16c
tax increase because it “hits the
families and people who can least
afford it.”
“Most smokers have the lower
incomes, so the burden is on those