Tobacco Documents Online

Kc7&,2T FROM: KLOEFFER 4•2ti-79' In a major speech to the National Interagency Council on 5moking and Heal'th in San Francisco this morning, Califano disclosed data (long in his possession) indicatinii a decline in trzn cigarette smoking. Again, he attacked cigarette advertising (he said $800 million per year here 51 8 billion worldw~iJe1 stated d th , , . an ; en " ---- Certainiy I know oi no parents, not even tobacco conPany presidents, who want their children to smoke. Indeed, the cigarette Companiss tell us that they firmly eonsider smoking an adult hahit. ''A year ago, the Board Chairman of the B'ro»n B Williamson Tobacco Company, Mr. C. I. McCarty, wrote a letter to me that included these words: "This company does not want children to smoke. We maintain a strict policy against promoting cigarettes to persons undrr 21 years of ae " ... ~~I am afraid that ~8AQ million in industry advertising and promotion each year--advertisinA that skillfully uscs voun¢. attractive models in active poses--C:elies that claim. "I think the time has come to ask the cigarette manufacturers to put;, some of their advertising dollars where their corporate rhetoric is. So I have today sent a letter to the Chief Executives of the major cibarette companies, urging that they commit ten percent of their vast advertising budgets to a spzcial, public service advertising campaign: A campaign to convince children and' teenai?ers that they shouldinot 3moke, and a campaign to alcrt pregnant women and women of childbearing sgt to the special dangers of smoking for their unborn babies. "A precedent for suth a campaign can be secn in the alcohol beverage industry, which has devoted funds to advertisements making it clear that they do not encourage the abusive use of their products. It is time for the cigarette induitry'to do the same. 'If these companies truly want to keep ciSarettes out of the hands of chitdren; if they truly believe that smoking ShOuld not be a pastime for eleven-, twelve- and thirteen-year-olds, they should respond favorably .-to this request. `If they fail to do s~~, the leader• of the cigarette industry pzrsit the conclusion that they do in fact want children to smokc: that they care more about the hc?alth of their corporate treasuries than the health of this nation's chil'c:ren." Walker Herryman, is in Caiifornia dealin)Z with media and I issued the •following statement here: "One teen smoker--whether it's pot or tobacco-•is one too many, onr• teen drinker is too many. But Mr. Califani isn't goirit to help solve those questions with his tunnel vision and reckless tise of data. +Just three months ago he was trying to alarm the country by wringing his hand'r•, over what he called a tCrrlble increase in ,vouth tobacco , smoking which he said was the result of si'ni,ter advertising canpaigns. 'At the same time, he alreadW had the data showing that teen tobacco smpking was down and that teen marijuana smoking kas up'sharply. Yet nobody has advertised pot. Just four days agohils department announced that more tcrna&ers have tried'alcahol than tobacco. 'Tobacco executives, will, I am sure, give his messag, today every bit of attention that it deserves. But what can we realiLv rely upon trom such a high ofiicial so to2:al1y blinded to facts and hri«rities by his personal ,ealotry and fanativi~m°" ,xf

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