ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 3, 1997 TAG: 9702030082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
To some, a tote bag is just a tote bag - even when it touts Marlboros.
``It doesn't matter what's on it,'' said Jennifer Craddock, a senior at Varina High School in eastern Henrico. She received the bag from a relative who smokes.
Federal officials believe that tobacco-branded bags, hats and clothes worn by kids are walking billboards for smoking and smokeless tobacco products.
Regulatory actions, encouraged by anti-smoking forces, make February a crucial month in the battle over tobacco. President Clinton has endorsed sweeping federal rules coming Feb. 28 that ban the distribution of anything that advertises cigarettes, snuff or other tobacco products.
The Food and Drug Administration also wants to outlaw vending machines and self-service displays that make it easy for young people to skirt laws against selling cigarettes to minors.
Federal officials estimate that about one in three teens - 3million in all - smoke at least once a month. And 90 percent of adult smokers started in their teens.
Faced with the tough new rules, Philip Morris and its tobacco and advertising allies are seeking an injunction from a federal judge in Greensboro, N.C., to block them. A hearing is set for Feb. 10.
The Greensboro court case could provide a historic debate pitting the tobacco industry's First Amendment rights to promotional speech against the FDA's mandate to oversee the making, labeling and marketing of consumer goods.
If successful, the tobacco supporters could also derail new FDA limits on ads in youth-oriented magazines and billboard and in-store advertising. New rules set to take effect in August call for black-and-white ads only, and rub out high-profile cartoon pitchmen such as Joe Camel.
Philip Morris, Richmond's largest private employer, has branded the FDA regulations as the first step of a prohibition against all tobacco use. The FDA denied the charges, saying its measures are designed solely to prevent children from smoking.
LENGTH: Short : 46 linesby CNB