by Charles Ray

Created on: May 25, 2009

With the discovery of tobacco in the New World by European explorers seeking to enrich the coffers of their royal patrons, a rich and powerful industry was born. Today, there is hardly a country where tobacco, in some form or other, is not consumed. It is smoked, chewed and dipped (held in the jaw or lower lip). The tobacco industry is one of the world's largest, with annual revenues exceeding the national budgets of all but the richest countries.

Despite the industry's efforts to suppress or ignore the facts, tobacco is harmful. Armed with this knowledge, it remains an individual decision as long as it is a legal substance, whether or not to use tobacco.

Given economic and political realities, an outright ban on tobacco production and use is hardly likely. Tax revenues from the sale of tobacco products is something no government, including the United States, is willing to forego. The influence and power of the tobacco industry and their legions of lobbyists, also poses an almost insurmountable barrier to any such effort.

What is banned, and should continue to be banned, is the advertising of tobacco products.

The decision to smoke is one that adults should be allowed to make for themselves. That decision, however, should not be influenced in any way by those who produce the product. Advertising has one main aim - to build demand for a product and attract new customers. For a product that has shown to be slowly killing off its consumers, this is an important goal of tobacco companies who want to survive and grow.

The actions of the tobacco industry, prior to the ban on advertising, serves as a chilling example of just how far they are willing to go to achieve that goal.

Those who are old enough will recall the industry ads of the 50s and 60s. Remember the image of the rugged, handsome cowboy? "Smoking is the sign of a real man." They used cartoon images (remember Joe Camel?) to attract younger smokers, and produced minty 'light' cigarettes to entice women to smoke. Advertising campaigns were targeted at minority communities to increase that customer base. Only after legislation was passed did companies reluctantly put a warning label on tobacco products concerning its 'possible' effects on health. And that warning, by the way, was in the smallest legible print possible.

After the U.S. ban on tobacco advertising went into effect, companies turned their attention to the vast international market. In some instances, their actions bordered on the unscrupulous, as when in the late 80s some companies, trying to break into the Thai market, asked the U.S. Government to pressure the Thai to lift their own national ban on tobacco advertising to help them compete against local producers.

In the late 70s, it was a common practice of tobacco companies to sponsor sporting events or concerts, a favorite venue of young people. At these events, which always featured large banners advertising their products, free sample were liberally handed out.

If people chose to smoke, knowing the health hazards tobacco presents, they must live (or die) with that decision. The tobacco industry, however, must never again be allowed to use the medium of advertising to help them in making that decision.

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