Tobacco Documents Online

HHS scored for snuffing antismoke ads WASHIN~TON--HIH~S finds itself on the defensive amid lots of smoke. Critics have jumped on it for dropgiag~ ,a~ an.ti¢Sga~ette eaxa- to cut spending on such activities. But Secretary Richard S. ~hweik- er and his aides deny any truce in the department's war on smoking, any attempt to dilute its message that the habit is a health hazard, or any bending to pressdre from the tobacco industry. The lost campaign--aimed at teen-agers like Shields, who's cost HHS $68,000 and would have 'used posters, newspaper ads, and television spots to convey the idea that "smoking spoils your looks." &p.pmve~_hy I:IHS' Office of Smok- was scutfle:d at department* head- quarters a month later, just days before its scheduled kickoff. Ond explanation for that deci- sion came from the agency's chief of staff, David Newhall, who ques- tioned whether Shields--the sub- ject of some sexy and controversial jeans commercials--would be an "appropriate" model for teens. Other Administration officials had complained, however, that the campaign seemed overl~ harsh and negative. That attitude caused health groups to accuse HI:IS of ~_'ng~i~_ .to~ She ~baeco, lob_~ Ohe of~h~se aseuser.s_z~_h_v~r- ican Lu~ng Association, picked up the ball on the first bounce, though, obtaining public-domain and freedom-of-information rights to the material. So it can now dis- tribute the ads under its own aus- pices; with the only cost t0 the ALA being to dub in its own logo. "We're delighted with the whole thing," says a spokeswoman for the organization. '~elevision stations in many of the major m~rkets view conUnued ,,n,a danno, ohvs,c ans .... _~ - -- : Percy wootton, told MWN his group ..... " y- : -~ " - "~- " - _ ~: -- - -I "has no officml stand on tobacco, -- - -- " " but ~here Comes a time when ~e _ knockstate staole ..... tobaccoI • ~- I have to be courageous." __~ RICHMOND--DoctorS-here in-:to- founded-On-smok~;" tebac~0-is a I The~ciety's-guide lists .behw~: baeco land have taken a stand $3A-billion-industry, making the I ior-modification programs spon- against smoking. The state medical state the fourth largest producer in sored by the Virginia Lung Asso- • society's journal, Virginia Medi- the country. But pride in what the ciation, the Seventh-Day Adven- cal, last month put ou~ a directory of group and private services that help smokers quit; within days of the publication date, it was deluged with requests for reprints. Physicians play a key role in getting people to kick the habit, of course, and a recent national sur- vey by the American Cancer Socie- ty suggests their efforts a~e en- h~inced when they're given anti- smoking posters, stickers, and bro- chures as propaganda aids. The • ACS. poll of 494 doctors indicates the smokers among them are less forceful--and convincing--in their attempts to win patients away -from the weed but that they do raise the subject with 55% of smokers in their practices..Non- smoking physicians try to get the message across to 66%. Here in Virginia, the "colony / ~'-"~ 22. 1981 M~DICAL WORLD NEWS/Ju~e Jamestown settlers started back in 1613 hasn't stilled widespread un- easiness about cigarettes, so the Medical Society of Virginia re- sponded. Its president, cardiologist tists, Smokenders, and the Unfver- sity of Virginia in Charlottesville. It also includes information on self-help kits and hypnosis. • "No method works better than another," comments Dr. Alan M. Blum, the young Chicago FP who heads Doctors Ought to Care, an outfit that counters smoking ads. '~hat's because it's a social prob- lem, not one that can be solved by technology." Virginia Medical agrees, noting that most tech- niques achieve a 70% success rate initially but lose about 40% to backsliding within the first year. The industry's /'carrion? Calm-- more puff than huff. "Such cam- paigns are quite popular today," observes Anne Browder, assistant to the president of the Tobacco" Institute. "And physician partici- pation has become fashionable." • T105280148