The comments were filed as part of the FDA's current rulemaking proceeding on restricting sale and distribution of tobacco products to children and adolescents. We know from past experience that these companies will stop at nothing to insert their logos and slogans everywhere they can, from movies to T-shirts to rock concerts. Unless the FDA adopts clear guidelines to protect young people, the tobacco industry will move swiftly into the interactive world of cyberspace, devising new and more powerful methods for targeting young people right in their own homes.
Teens are particularly vulnerable to the advertising appeals of tobacco companies.
Most adults who smoke became addicted to tobacco well before their 18th birthday. Young smokers are also unusually faithful to their chosen brands, rarely changing during their first ten years of smoking. Federal legislation banned cigarette advertising from television in 1971, following the Surgeon General's report which linked smoking to cancer. However, no clear regulations now prevent tobacco companies from using the Internet for marketing. Though the major tobacco companies have not yet launched online ad campaigns, there are strong indications that they are poised to do so.