Source: San Francisco Chronicle Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Pubdate: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 DEMOCRATS ON TRACK WITH TOBACCO BILL THE ANTI-TOBACCO bill unveiled yesterday by Vice President Al Gore and a number of Democratic senators carries with it real potential to finally reduce teenage smoking. The provision that makes the measure by Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota so strong would impose harsh monetary penalties on the tobacco companies for failing to meet a goal to reduce teenage smoking by 67 percent over 10 years. At 40 cents per pack on individual companies that fail to meet the goal, the penalties are five times what they were in the tentative settlement reached last June with cigarette manufacturers. Each day, 3,000 teenagers now light up their first cigarette, and a sharp reduction in that figure would go a long way toward saving lives. Much of the contentiousness surrounding the settlement debate has centered on the need to regulate advertising, promotion and marketing aimed at teenagers. Industry documents confirm that teenagers as young as 14 were targeted by cigarette makers and resulted in campaigns using appeal ing, cartoon characters such as Joe Camel. The Food and Drug Administration wants to regulate tobacco sales, marketing and advertising, and the Conrad bill would give the FDA that authority. However, there is division among legal scholars as to whether tobacco advertising and marketing enjoy full First Amendment protections that would prevent Congress or the FDA from intervening. A federal judge in North Carolina ruled against the FDA on just that issue. Because of the force of the financial penalties in Conrad's bill, the debate over who has authority to regulate tobacco advertising could be moot. Cigarette makers are going to have to substantially curb teenage-targeted promotions if they are to avoid the penalties, thus giving the penalties built-in restrictions on advertising and marketing. Conrad's bill is also much preferred over the settlement because it does not make the giant concession of giving the tobacco industry immunity from future class-action suits. The measure, which would raise $500 billion over 25 years, also would impose a $1.50 a pack tax on cigarettes, require full disclosure of tobacco company documents, set up smoke-free environments in most public places and help work against international promotion of tobacco. The bill is the best hope yet for lessening tobacco's deadly hold on Americans. )1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A24