Down to the Last Cigarette

GREENSBORO, North Carolina: Fighting for the future of an industry under increasing fire, the nation's largest tobacco companies began arguments in a lawsuit designed to prevent the FDA from regulating tobacco as a drug. Lawyers for R.J. Reynolds, Phillip Morris and a number of other tobacco companies were in court to block new FDA rules, scheduled to go take effect on February 28, that would severely limit cigarette advertising aimed at teenagers. Terming the FDA restrictions a violation of the First Amendment and a prime case of federal overreach, lawyers want Judge William Osteen, a onetime tobacco industry lobbyist, to rule against the FDA without a trial. Tobacco representatives argue that the next step is a total ban on cigarette sales. If enacted, the rule would certainly put a crimp in an industry where 90 percent of new smokers are under the age of 18. That's just the point, the Clinton Administration counters, that children under 18 are too young to make responsible decisions about smoking. Whatever the ruling, the tobacco industry is hedging its bets by aggressively expanding operations in foreign markets such as Asia and the former Soviet bloc, areas where tobacco regulations are scarce and youthful consumers eager to snap up high-profile Western products are plentiful. Also in the works -- development of "safer" cigarettes, which so far haven't made it out of research labs. Osteen has promised a decision on the regulations anywhere from between five to 10 weeks, but with so much at stake on both sides, it's not likely to be the last word.