During the 1960s television counter-advertising drove tobacco use down. Counter-advertising can be an effective antidote to the slick products of Madison Avenue. Spending more on counter-advertising yields greater reductions in tobacco use.
Many forces push children to experiment with tobacco.
If tobacco is easy to get, apparently 'harmless' experimentation can quickly lead to nicotine addiction. In the past, about half the tobacco retailers in Rhode Island sold tobacco to children. Since last year, however, with resources from the federal government, municipal police forces throughout the State have cut this fraction to one-fourth. Comprehensive school programs, to give consistent and persistent messages about tobacco, and to teach refusal skills. Comprehensive school programs prevent tobacco use among children.