Tobacco Documents Online

NEW YORK T.TJCS New Y.)rk, New York June 25, 1964 UrSe TO:REQUlRE NEaLTN WARNING FOR CIGARETTES Trade Commission Orders That Package Labels Tell of Danger of Cancer RULE EFFECTIVE JAN. 1 Advertising Curb May Also Be Included in Regulation -Tobacco Stocks Drop By EII.EEN BHAN®H9,N aprN-1 ro 7b. Nee Yort 7Ymn WA8HINtaTON, June 24- The p'ederal Tradr: Commission amotmocd today tbat It would require oigarette packages to carry a warning tbat cigarette emokiag in dangerous to health. The statement will be reqoired on all !fficks, boxes and caetotu of cigarettes aold, beginning next Jan. L The exact language of the cautlonary, etatement will be left up to cigarette atanufatr tureta. They will be requltttd to atate "clearly and praminentlyr" that clgarel,te amokflog "may cause death from eancer and other dlaeases." A similar warning will be ra- qulred In all cigarette ad%eo- tising beginning July 1, 19e6, under the terms of a regulaUon Issued today by the The sequlremett JavolvWg cigarette advertleirtg could be abandoned or postponed, how- ever. the cmmmmissian said, lt the tobacco Industry can convlacs It bctorc the middle of nezt pear that surh a warning has become unneceasary. Houee Pattel Hears Dlxon The clrcume/aptota under which the eommleelon would abandon Its tequlr>mae!t! that clgarette advertisements can• taln the health warning were not made entirely clear in the annouttcement It was indicated, however, that one prerequisite mlght be that the tndustry it- self participate In campalgna to educate the publlo concern- big the dangers of cigarette smoking. Changes In the content of cigarette adverUsenteal8 would clcarly be re,ttlinad. [Prlces of tobtuxo Issues took modesate to eharp losaes Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Idggett & Myers and Philip Morris were hardest blt, bnth off 155. De- tatls on Page 46.) The eommlaslon's decision tbat the absence of a health warning an cigarette labels was unfair and misleading was based on the findinga of a special com. mlttee formed by tne Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, Dr. Y.ut3er L Terty. That oommlttee, after review. log many studies of smoking aad health made In recent years, concluded that "smokitag Is a health he arA ef sufHclent Im• pnrtan.•e In tile L natcd blale.; to tvarrartl appropriate nemedial acUon." The report also found that lung cancer and some res- piratory ailments were caused 6Y cigarette artoking, Paul Rand Dqron, the com. ndssion chairman, anitounced in ttulimony before the House In• terstate Commerce Committee that the commission had deel ed to go ahead with Its pleas to require the health waraings. The text of the eorm mladon's proposed rule and a 168-page teport, supporting Its Conclusion that the new rule was neeessary, were made pub- IIe later. Mr. Dixon told the committee be had no doubt that the com- misston had the authority to fmpose the cigarette regula- tions. Tobacco industry spokes- men tndicated, however, that thcy would. Immediately chal- lenge this point In the courls. The trommission's rules were first proposed in somewhat dif- ferent fotm I,t January. Its decision to go ahead with the rule caught the industry by surprise, however, and no for- mal announcements concerning plans for a legal challenge were made hnatediately. Cov. Terry Sanford of North CaroAna announced that his state would participate in aq9 court actlon that was taken In the case. North Carolina's two Sena- tors, Sam J. Eruin Jr. and 8. Everett Jordan, both Democrats, a3id that tobacco growers and cigarctte manufacturers had ln- forrned them they plaimed an Immediate wirt '( : of t:•h commission's ra >;ulaUuas. The Senators said that they wouid themselves sponsor Con- gressional action to prohibit the commission from putting Its rules Into effect should the court test fail and should they be unsuccessful in an attempt to get the AdminlstraUon to wlthdraw the reguletion. The p'ederai Trade Commis- alon, as an independent agency, is not directly subject to the policies of any AdmfnlstraUon. However, White House pressure has successfully been exerted on many of these agencies in ghThe epas t commission's rules• in contrast to the proposal it orig- inally made, do not attempt to limit In any way the affirma- tive claims that are made in V tte advertisements. commission said that It had dropped thisn part ot Ita pro- poatd regulatio, temporarily at ieast. because of the Indus- try's plsqs to act voluntarily to end appeals to youL;g people and other undesirable prac- dces." The Industry recently named Robert B. Meyner. former Gov ernor oq New Jersey, as admin- lstrator of it; w,luotary adver- qsktg code. It ha.c received Jus- tice Department assurances Page 6 41.300330.08 that cigarette companies would not be sublect to criminal anth trust prosecution for adhering to this code, The ' 1,1-.~sion's report v rcd .-•te manutactur- . ho,, lh:.t the aommts• swn «•.rdd °maintatn a close E Irvetllanre" of the industry's ,behavior under the voluntary 'adverttaiag codt, , The commisslon noted that it was not prescribing the precise language of the warnmg it will require on cigarette packa and cartons. It said It would hold ltsell available for con- sultatloa with the Industry and would give advance approral to warning phrases If found acceptable. While the words "death" and "cancer' do nnt have to be used, under lhe commission's rule, btr. Dixon conceded that he knew of nu adequate sub- sUtutes. If the industry, as expected, goes into court to ask that the rule be prohibited from going into effect while the legal power of the commission is tested, the litigation might take up to four years. Mr. Dixon said. The cr!mmir.clon's decision to go ahead with the rule now was made by a 3-to-1 vote. Com- miaslonet' A. Everette Mac- Intyre said that he would have postponed the effective date of the labeling order, as well as other portlons of the rule, until .lul,y 1, 1985, and would have acted only after giving the in- dustry opponuaity to under- take a taoelmg program volun- teril,!' Members of the commission who voted to adopt the rule, in addition to Mr. Dixon, were Philip Elman and John It. Rellly. A, D!. A-13ees Health Harasd aDetlal to 7E1 Nrr Yort Y1mn SAI3 IrRANCiSCO June 24 -The House of Defegatea nt the American Medieal Asso- ciatlon passed a resolutio* tn- day affirming that the as -cla• tlon °Is on record and does recognize a significant relatlon- ship between cigarette smoking and theincidence of lung cancer and certain other diseases, and that cigarette smoking ia a serious health hazard." The resolution, passed aith- out dlscusslon, also declared that the A,M.AL pamphlet "Smoking: Farts 4ou Should Know" requtred modiftcatlon in 1;_ ::Ekt of accumulating knowl e. The pamphlet, Is- aued In~tay, >as been crniclr.ed for not taking a strong enough stand on the smoking and health Issue. The tobacco lndustry reserved comment yesterday on the Fed- eral Trade Commission ruling on clgatectte hazards. The Advertising Fcderatinn of America made public yes- terday a letter to Congress op- Nstng requhements of a warn- I ngg in adverUsln that cigarette smoktng i3 a hea~th hazard.