Tobacco Documents Online

tlT1 0033044 June ~, ~96~ A H rsh Cig ref e Edi¢ ~k and adv~ ~m ~e p~He h~l~ ~d may ~m d~ ~ Gn~r m~ ~ ~ But ~t 'm~ It~d~ m ~8ble ~r ~e don't~~JLN~do ~une ~, Staking A Claim To New Empire The Federal Trade Commission's erda: rn cigarette label/rig end ad. ve:l:~.ng eeoms to have been issued mole to stoke a claim to a new era. l~'e for its bureaucracy then cn Jostle hable ~rounds for protecting health. The Department of Health, Zducation ~nd Welfare wants its Food and Din8 Administration to here jurssdict~o. over labeling cigarettes. By acting who. it did. the FTC got the jump of the FDA, In bureaucracy, we sup- pose. possession is nine.tenths of the law, and the oaths which grabs |uris. diction f|rat gets a positron o| strength from which to hold ~t. In the hght of the tobacco mduo- try'a own plans to regulate its salver- Stein|. the FTC order was unnoces. eery. Dace.so the industry Itself pre- poses to police its odvortisina, and has drawn up a code and chesm an administr~tor, it deserves to be given s chen~e t,~ see what it elm tie o~ its ~'n. The Justice Department has agreed to siva the tobacco industry s h chance, and the FTC should done so. By issuing the order when it did, the FTC in effect se|d thor the 3mtice Departm~t was dere- lict in the performance of Its dmies ln~ofar as regulation of cigarette ad- vert/sing Is concerned, Against such a back~'ound. ~t pears that the FTC's prime concern was t~ grab ~rls~cti~ ~ eip~tte label~8 end odve~ls~g ~fore sn- orer egen~ did. ~e e~er Is as dlserim~ato~ es it is ~fair. It Is ~eir because it denies to the ~dus- t~ the op~fl~ity it has ]n good forth sousht to ~lice tt~elf. It Is dis. crim~eto~ because it does n~ r~ q~re other ~ssible sou~e~ of c~. car and other di~aees to be so labeled, From ~e evidence at hand, e~aust fumes and smog can be ~ari~ wJ~ ~s~ns~dity for c.ncer as much as clear.tea. If the FTC is so concedes e~ut heal~, it Is mora~ obligated to mq~m the m~rces ~ e~eu~t f~mes and snlog t.~ ear~ 8 label s~flar to ~at it wo~d req~m for el~e~tte~. • ~e o~er w~. end shn~d, be ch~l- lm~ ~ ~e ~r3. ~ ~is new field, no f~eral asen~F sho~d ~- fume Jurisdiction. ~t ~nsre~s sho~d spec~ic~l~ author,ze 5uri.dic- ties. ~y movin~ t: enlarg~ ~t5 o~'n tropic, lht ~ has put ~e issue c~trol of cigarette labeling and ve~is~g whet'e it can be def~itivrb" deeid~ by ~e ~rte. The • ou~h, sho~d have been given a chance to v~ve the e~ectivoness of its O~ seH.rt~atl~,