Tobacco Firm Offers To Cut Vending Sales But Only If Government Drops Regulation Attempts

Philip Morris USA, the nation’s No. 1 tobacco company, said Wednesday it would back strong measures to cut tobacco use by minors - but only if the government drops efforts to regulate cigarettes.

The maker of Marlboro called for a federal ban on all vending machine cigarette sales and for sweeping curbs on tobacco advertising. It would have the government ban permanent brand name advertising in virtually all sports stadiums and prohibit the use of corporate logos and characters on non-tobacco items.

It also would seek a ban on all outdoor advertising of tobacco products within 1,000 feet of a school or a playground, including all mass transit ads.

But the company set a condition for its recommendation - that the Food and Drug Administration be precluded from regulating tobacco products. The only exception would be to allow FDA regulation of any tobacco product making a health claim.

The initiative is aimed at countering cigarette usage by minors. Critics of the industry have said cigarette makers have tacitly encouraged young people to smoke.

“This federal legislative approach will make it impossible for anyone to legally obtain any tobacco product … without a face-to-face transaction where proof of age can be checked,” said Steve Parrish, a Philip Morris USA spokesman.

In Washington, White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the proposal “falls a little bit short” of Clinton’s demands. “We would welcome further efforts by Philip Morris and others in the industry to meet the standards the president set forth,” McCurry said. He did not specify how Philip Morris’ proposal fell short.

McCurry did have some conciliatory words for the company, saying it “is clearly trying to become a good corporate citizen.”

The FDA is considering whether to regulate tobacco as a drug, and the Justice Department also is investigating whether Philip Morris and other tobacco company executives lied to Congress and the FDA when they denied manipulating nicotine content to hook smokers.

Beyond that, the tobacco industry is facing a torrent of litigation over smoking-related illnesses. A growing number of states are suing to recover the cost of Medicaid treatment for smokers.

Philip Morris was joined in its proposal by United States Tobacco Co., which makes smokeless tobacco products. Other leading cigarette companies did not participate in the announcement and Parrish said he did not know how they stood on the proposal.