facts | for Consumers |
Federal Trade Commission - November 1992
Tobacco Products
fast facts
|
Bureau of Consumer Protection Office
of Consumer & Business Education (202) 326-3650 |
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has
jurisdiction to enforce laws against false and deceptive
advertising, including advertising for tobacco products. The FTC
also has responsibility under various federal laws to insure the
proper display of health warnings in advertising and on packaging
of tobacco products sold in the United States. Further, the
agency collects and reports to Congress information concerning
cigarette and smokeless tobacco advertising, sales expenditures,
and the tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide content of cigarettes.
This brochure provides an overview of tobacco-product laws and
explains the FTC's role in enforcement.
The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act was
designed to make Americans more aware of the adverse health
effects of smoking. As enacted in 1965, the law required health
warnings only on cigarette packages. In 1984, the law was amended
to require that one of the four warning labels listed below
appears in a specific format on cigarette packages and in most
related advertising.
* SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING:
Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May
Complicate Pregnancy.
* SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING:
Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your
Health.
* SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING:
Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature
Birth, and Low Birth Weight.
* SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING:
Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.
There are a few exceptions in the Federal law on tobacco
advertising and labeling:
* Health warning labels on outdoor-billboard advertisements are
allowed to be somewhat abbreviated from those appearing in
newspaper, magazine, and product packaging.
* Warning labels are not required on specialty advertising items
(such as pens, pencils, clothing, and sporting goods) that carry
cigarette company logos, brand names, or other promotional
messages. These items must bear warning labels, however, if they
promote smokeless tobacco products.
* Warning labels are not required for cigars, pipe tobacco, and
roll-your-own cigarette tobacco.
The FTC also enforces regulations that require health warnings
to appear on all packaging and in advertising for smokeless
tobacco products. These requirements are authorized under the
Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986,
enforced jointly by the FTC and the Department of Justice.
Smokeless tobacco products such as chewing tobacco, moist snuff,
and plug tobacco are used orally. The Act requires manufacturers,
packagers, and importers to place one of the following warning
labels on smokeless tobacco packages.
* WARNING: THIS PRODUCT MAY CAUSE MOUTH CANCER
* WARNING: THIS PRODUCT MAY CAUSE GUM DISEASE AND TOOTH LOSS
* WARNING: THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A SAFE ALTERNATIVE TO CIGARETTES
The Act requires that the respective warnings be placed in a
circle and arrow format on all forms of advertisements except
billboards. The FTC has issued regulations to determine the size
and format of the health warning in relation to the size of the
package.
The Cigarette Act and the Smokeless Tobacco Act require
manufacturers and importers to submit a packaging and advertising
plan for FTC approval. The plan must provide for appropriate
label rotation on packages and in advertising for each brand of
cigarette or smokeless product, whether manufactured in the
United States or imported here. The law requires that a health
warning appear in a conspicuous location on advertisements and
packaging, and the manufacturer's plan must assure an even
distribution of the warning statements in all parts of the U.S.
where the product is sold.
Both of these laws require the FTC to report to Congress. Under
the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, the FTC
reports annually the current practices and methods of cigarette
advertising and promotion. The Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco
Health Education Act of 1986 contains the same reporting
requirements -- but on a two-year basis. This Act also requires
the FTC to compile for Congress current sales figures for
smokeless tobacco products.
Amendments to the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act
in 1971 and 1973 banned advertisements for cigarette and little
cigar products from radio and television. The Comprehensive
Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 extended the
broadcast advertising ban to smokeless tobacco products.
For many years, the FTC has obtained and publicized
information about the constituents of tobacco smoke, such as tar,
nicotine, and carbon monoxide. Through these disclosures,
consumers who smoke have been able to choose brands with tested
lower concentrations of such substances. In addition, since 1971,
all manufacturers have been voluntarily disclosing the tar and
nicotine content of cigarette brands in their advertisements.
A single copy of the 1992 "Report on Tar, Nicotine, and
Carbon Monoxide of the Smoke of 534 Varieties of Domestic
Cigarettes" is available free of charge. Requests may be
sent to: Public Reference, Federal Trade Commission, Washington,
D.C. 20580. For further information about tobacco products and
advertising, consumers also may write to: Correspondence Branch,
Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580.
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