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Council for Tobacco Research

A Poor Ruling. Express [States Belief That Ftc Rule Is Not the Proper Way to Discourage Smoking]

Date: 25 Jun 1964
Length: 1 page
HT0033042
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Abstract

MUL

Fields

Type
NEWS CLIPPING
Depository Date
31 Jan 1996
Named Person
Ftc
Master ID
300160514-0588
Related Documents:
Request
132
Author
Express
Box
096
Site
Hoyt
UCSF Legacy ID
opt1aa00

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FREE PRESS Burlington, Vertoont June 25, 1964 Cigarette Ruling Is Unwise THE AMBITIOUS CHAIRMAN OF TNE Federal Trade Commission, Paul Rand Dixon, has written a record of undue interference in the operations of American free enterprise. Many Vermont businessmen are highly dis• turbed by several of his actions in Ihe past which have restricxd - unwisely and per. haps unlawfully - the legitimate conduct of private business. Now Dixon's Trade Commission has reach- ed its most disputable decision of all. This is the ruling issued Wednesday which re- quires that by next year all cigarette labels and advertismg Inform the public "that cigar- eue smoking is dangerous to health and may cause death from cancer and other diseases." Such a ruling is both shocking and ridicu• lous. It raises several immediate questions: 1. The purpose Qf advertising is to sell products honestly, yet how could a manufac- uuer sell his products honestly if he is re- EXMSS Pbrtland, Maine June 25, 1964 Page 41 HT®0033042 quired to indict his products with unproven allegations? 2. What right has the Federal Trade Com- mission to issue such a sweeping ruling? 3. If cigarette marketing is to be treated in this manner, why not also the marketing of other products which are polentially lethal? For esample, why not require the automobile manufacturers to inform the public "that au- tomobile driving is dangerous to health and may cause death from broken bones and other injuries"? Certainly people should be appraised of the risks imrotved in ci¢arette smoking. But mosl people - and all smokers - are fully aware of the ri?ks. Yet they continue to smoke of their own free will. The Federal Trade Commission should rescind its ruling. It reveals an amazing lack of faith hi the intelligence of the American consumer, and it shows a disturbing contempt for American law and custom. A Poor Rule The Federal Trade Commlaslon has Issued a rule requiring clgarette labels and advertlsing to state that ctgarette smoking "is dangerous to health and may cause death from cancer and other dfseases" The commission has decided that It Is unfair for the tobacco lndustry not to advise the public that amoking Is a health hazard. It apparently will Ineist that this ad- vice be Included on every container and In all advertising. It has been pretty we11 estab- lished that amotttng Isn't one of the healthier pleasures. Its relation- ship to cancer, heart aflments and other disesaes has been widelv de-' bated and frequently stated. Every possible type of educational pro- gram should be ttiafntafned to make the public aware that smok- 1ng can be hlghly Inlurious. It is particularly Important to tnake this point emphatically and fre- Quently for young people. It Is equally Important that young people be advised on the dangers of drinking. Automobiles are about as lethal a device as man ever created for general use. Are they to be labeled as one of the nation's greatest causes of death? The discriminatory aspecta of the PTC rule might be more de- fenslble If any llkelihood existed that such labeling and advertising would be effective. But It won't. People who want to smoke will do so. Tf cigarettes are unfit for hu- man use they should be ruled off the market. If they are legal mer- chandlse and, Irtcldentally, a ma- jor source of tax revenue, the manufacturers should have the same rights of labeling and adver- tlaing as are available to other in- dustries. The FTC rule Is not the proper way to discourage smoking. ~

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