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1996 YEAR IN REVIEW

Tobacco companies have had some bad years.

There was 1964, the year of the first U.S. Surgeon General report linking tobacco to cancer.  There was 1971, when cigarette ads were withdrawn from radio and television.  And there was the year pregnant women were told smoking could harm their unborn babies.

Yet, through it all, the tobacco industry somehow managed to regroup and find new markets for its products  Until now, that is.  The year that is about to end may prove to be the turning point -- the year the tobacco giants began a downslide brought on by a ground swell of public indignation, crusading state and federal officials, and a stronger, better-coordinated public health community.

Not all signs are bad for the industry.  While tobacco stocks fluctuated throughout the year as events unfolded, they approach year-end at high levels. 

But while the tobacco companies may hope for a happier New Year, 1997 may be a watershed year in which this nation's tobacco policies are forever altered. 

During 1997, the FDA rule will be implemented as a court challenge is mounted.  At least three states suing the tobacco industry go to trial along with two statewide class-action suits.  New whistle blowers and more tobacco industry documents are likely to surface.  OSHA may issue rules restricting smoking in the workplace, and the Department of Justice's ongoing investigation of tobacco industry executives will reach a decision-making point.

“The tobacco industry's solid wall of silence and deception has been pierced and the winds of change are blowing strong,” said Lonnie Bristow, M.D., past president of the American Medical Association.  “The castle walls are crumbling around them, and wolves are at the gate.”

Some of the highlights of 1996:

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues its historic ruling to control the sale and marketing of tobacco aimed at the nation's children.  The rule bans tobacco billboards within 1000 feet of schools and public playgrounds and restricts the format of ads in publications with a large teen readership, among other provisions.  Several polls show public opinion strongly in favor of the FDA rule.
• Mississippi is the first of 20 (and still counting) states whose attorneys general have brought suit against the tobacco companies to recover billions of dollars in taxpayer funds used to treat tobacco-related diseases in Medicaid patients.
• Numerous studies are released illustrating the influence of tobacco marketing on children's use of cigarettes and spit tobacco.
• Internal company memos surface which show aggressive attempts by tobacco companies to hook underage smokers, who are needed to replace older smokers, who quit smoking or die.  FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler receives information from three former Philip Morris employees that the company adjusted nicotine levels in cigarettes to ensure addiction.
• The Centers for Disease Control reports that smoking among youth has reached its highest level in 16 years.  CDC calculates that five million children alive today will die prematurely (unless current rates are reversed) because of a decision made as adolescents - a decision to smoke cigarettes.
• Target, the nation's third largest discount store chain, announces it will stop selling cigarettes by the end of September, 1996.
• A group of advertising executives meets in New York City to call on their colleagues to join a new, voluntary effort to confront the issue of tobacco marketing to children.

These are just some of the events of 1996, an election year in which Democrats and Republicans accepted record high amounts of money from the tobacco industry.  Many, however, turned down tobacco cash and voiced their support for the FDA effort.  For the first time, tobacco was a prominent issue in the presidential campaign and in a number of Congressional races.

Still ahead:

Initial implementation of the FDA anti-tobacco rule begins at the end of February, with photo identification required for tobacco sales to youths.  In August, FDA advertising restrictions begin to take effect, and in 1998, the ban on brand name sponsorship of sport or entertainment events.  But the tobacco industry and its allies are pressing a lawsuit in North Carolina federal court to stop the FDA, saying the agency has overstepped its authority and that the rule violates their right to free speech.

The controversial rule will also play a role in the confirmation hearings of a new FDA commissioner.  Tobacco allies in the Senate will likely resist a strong anti-tobacco nominee, but the Clinton administration's commitment to protect the nation's children from nicotine addiction is expected to continue undiminished.

“What happens to the FDA rule will have more to do with what this nation does about tobacco than any other action since the Surgeon General’s report in 1964,” said William D. Novelli, president of the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids.

At both the state and federal levels more legislative proposals that ever are expected in support of higher excise taxes on tobacco, clean indoor air and others.  The tobacco industry and its allies in Congress will also continue to try to overturn or weaken the FDA.  In opposition, the CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS will keep up the pressure for anti-tobacco initiatives, working with its allied member organizations to keep the issued before the American people and their representatives in government.