Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503090102
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Dr. David Kessler, the commissioner of food and drugs, said Wednesday that smoking was fundamentally a pediatric disease because most addiction to tobacco begins among teen-agers, and outlined steps to combat the problem.
In a speech at the Columbia University School of Law in New York, Kessler outlined a program that is likely to be a model for announcements this year from the Food and Drug Administration on whether and how it should regulate tobacco.
He called for a comprehensive program to prevent young people from becoming addicted to nicotine. It would include restricting access for children and teen-agers to tobacco products, perhaps by banning or restricting vending machines, teaching children about tobacco addiction and reducing the ``powerful imagery in tobacco advertising and promotion'' that affects children.
This may include bans on certain kinds of advertising, such as those proposed in a study from the Institute of Medicine, which is affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences.
It suggested prohibiting photographs and cartoons aimed at young people and requiring all cigarette packages to be in black and white and carry only the cigarette name and required government warnings.
Kessler, a pediatrician, said: ``It is easy to think of smoking as an adult problem. It is adults who die from tobacco-related diseases. We see adults light up in a restaurant or bar.''
But he said, that is like entering the theater in the third act, ``after the plot has been set in motion, after the stage has been set. A person who hasn't started smoking by age 19 is unlikely to ever become a smoker. Nicotine addiction begins when most tobacco users are teen-agers, so let's call this what it really is: a pediatric disease.''
He referred to studies showing that more than 90 percent of those who smoke for years begin while they are teen-agers. Conversely, a large majority of people who start smoking at age 25 or later soon quit.
Since last spring, his agency has been investigating whether nicotine is an addictive drug that should be regulated.
Officials say the agency will announce the results of its investigation sometime this summer and experts believe that some regulatory action against smoking will be recommended, either for the FDA or Congress or both to enact.
Kessler said the tobacco industry was convinced that children are the most important target.
He said that from 1992 to 1993, the prevalence of smoking by high school seniors increased to 19 percent from 17.2 percent. Among college freshmen, the figure rose to 12.5 percent in 1994 from 9 percent in 1985.
by CNB