Too many children are still targeted by big tobacco. Now is not the time abandon the truth campaign

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 14 Sep 2004 - 13:00 PDT


Statement of John L Kirkwood, President and CEO American Lung Association

Now is not the time to abandon the truth campaign, because, the truth is that tobacco companies still market to kids. Too many children and teens are still targeted by big tobacco. Each year, the tobacco industry spends in excess of $11 billion to market its deadly product. Every day 6,000 children under 18 start to smoke for the first time, close to 2,000 of them become established daily smokers. This is intolerable. The earlier a smoker starts, the more likely he or she is to die from tobacco use. Now is not the time to abandon the truth® campaign.

The truth® campaign is key to the work being done across the nation to reduce tobacco addiction. Coupled with meaningful policy change that has increased cigarette taxes and eliminated smoking in public places in many communities and states, the truth® campaign's message has hit the mark with teens, using unique language and imagery that teens understand. The truth® campaign is edgy, pointed, sometimes funny and often deadly serious but always tells the truth® about the tobacco industry.

The American Legacy Foundation took the truth® to the teens of America. The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between 46 states and the tobacco industry compelled payments that endowed the Legacy Foundation to fund an education campaign -- the truth® campaign. The clear intent was for this to be a sustained approach. Despite public pronouncements, the tobacco industry has not truly changed. It is still marketing to kids. The unvarnished truth® provided an effective, creative counter punch to the Marlboro Man. Still, more than 1 in 4 high school students smoke. We need the truth® to maintain the fight. We need the truth® to confront the next class of kids susceptible to tobacco.

At the time of the Master Settlement, the attorneys general repeatedly stated publicly that reducing teen smoking was the goal. We understood that in order to sustain this effort, the education campaign would have to continue. We call on the state attorneys general to amend the Master Settlement Agreement to continue to fund the truth® campaign. The courts should compel the industry to fulfill the intent of the Master Settlement Agreement and fund the effective truth® campaign.

For 100 years, the American Lung Association has been the lead organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease death rates continue to increase while other leading causes of death have declined. The American Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung Association is "Improving life, one breath at a time." For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1 800 LUNG USA (1 800 586 4872) or log on to http://www.lungusa.org.

American Lung Association

• Additional
• References
• Citations