ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 16, 1993                   TAG: 9312160094
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BAN ON JOE CAMEL MAY BE ELUSIVE

A proposed ban on Joe Camel ads may go up in smoke because the Federal Trade Commission appears deadlocked on the issue more than seven months after FTC staff recommended snuffing out the cigarette campaign.

Two of the five commissioners have voted in favor of seeking a ban while the other three - apparently concerned about First Amendment questions - have yet to vote, said Art Amolsch, publisher of the newsletter FTC:Watch.

"It is a volatile issue, and I have a feeling there are some commissioners who would prefer not to vote, not to go on the record on this," he said.

In April, the staff recommended that the commission seek to ban the cartoon character, saying it lured youngsters into smoking. In September, 27 state attorneys general urged a ban, saying in a letter to the FTC that the campaign encourages children to smoke. - Newsday 


 by CNB