The fight for smoke-free air and lungs has been remarkably successful in the 1980s. In only a few years, smoking has been restricted in public places, prohibited on short airline flights and is about to be banned on almost all U.S. flights.
But anti-smoking advocates should not become too comfortable. There are still important efforts that need to be made to curtail the harmful impact of tobacco on society. Two major goals need to be actively addressed: the elimination of cigarette advertising, especially ads aimed at children, and the control of cigarette exports.Winning these battles won't be easy. In spite of losing the airline battle, the tobacco industry, in the words of its chief lobbyist, is "keeping its powder dry."
Fortunately, an increasing number of people realize that tobacco is a deadly drug that killed 390,000 Americans last year - more than all who died from AIDS, drugs, fires, car crashes and homicides combined. It also kills thousands of "involuntary smokers" - persons forced to breathe "second-hand smoke."
Nevertheless, the tobacco industry remains aggressive. It is bombarding American teenagers, especially girls, with appeals that exploit their eagerness to experiment and their sense of immortality. For the first time in years, more college freshmen are smoking than before.
To combat this action, Congress should ban cigarette ads. Hollywood filmmakers, too, should refuse to cooperate with the tobacco industry in its especially sneaky strategy of "paid placement" of cigarettes in children's films. Many people were appalled when they saw the leading man in "Roger Rabbit" smoking Lucky Strikes and a cartoon character selling Camels.
If filmmakers refused to allow this to happen, they would send their own message that they condemn the promotion of cigarettes in films.
Americans need to speak out also against tobacco marketing abroad. U.S. cigarette manufacturers are now branching out for new markets in the Third World. In Japan, American cigarettes have gone from 2 percent to 10 percent of the market, and nearly 20 percent of female college students now smoke, compared to 3 percent of their mothers. In Taiwan, four out of five smoking teenagers now prefer American brands.
All of this is happening with the encouragement of the U.S. government. In effect, tobacco manufacturers are making a cancer epidemic possible in the Third World that is already overwhelmed by disease. In the words of former Sen. Frank Moss of Utah, "The only difference between this campaign and an outright military invasion is that cigarette smoking deaths are not as prompt."
Tobacco export control should be the highest anti-smoking priority of the 1990s. Just as President Bush has called drugs a scourge on society, the dumping of tobacco on the Third World should be considered a scourge that must be stopped.