CIGARS MAY GET WARNING LABELS

WASHINGTON, - The Surgeon General of the United States
is calling for warning labels on cigars equal to those on cigarettes,
in the wake of reports that use of the stogies by teens is on the increase.

A pair of reports was issued today by the Office of the Inspector
General of the Department of Health and Human Services. In one, a
survey of high school and college students found more than a third had
smoked a cigar in the previous month, and considered them more
socially acceptable than cigarettes or chewing tobacco.

The youths were easily able to recall television shows, movies and
celebrities associated with cigar smoking.

Saying ``There is no safe form of tobacco,'' Surgeon General Dr. David
Satcher, in one report, said, ``We should require the same sort of
warning labels on cigars that we already require on packages of
cigarettes and spit tobacco. The absence of such a warning on cigars
could lead consumers to erroneously conclude that cigars do not carry
health risks.''

June Gibbs Brown, the inspector general of HHS, said they used 18
focus groups involving 227 youngsters of differing backgrounds to
explore patterns of cigar use among their peers. There were 13 groups
of high school students, four of junior high students and one of
college students.

Brown said they found more than one third of the participants had
smoked a cigar within the past 30 days, and half said they expected to
be cigar users within five years.

Brown says, ``The findings are of profound concern and require our
immediate action to inform the public about health risks associated
with cigar smoking.''

Although the sale of tobacco to minors is illegal in all 50 states,
enforcement of cigar sales is lax, and most states are unaware of the
problem. The students report they buy the cigars at gas stations and
convenience stores, and sometimes hollow out the cigars and load them
with marijuana to get a better high. They typically smoke them at
parties, in conjunction with drinking.

The problem appears to be greater among urban schools, says the
inspector general's report.

The HHS study was prompted by a 1998 report from the Centers of
Disease Control and Prevention showing a high level of risk for cancer
of the lungs, larynx, mouth and esophagus from smoking cigars.

The inspector general's report says that cigars appear to be popular
because they are easier to get than cigarettes or chewing tobacco.
Federal laws do not require manufacturers to report their ingredients,
and unlike other tobacco products, there are no radio or television
advertising regulations.