MORE TEENS STARTED SMOKING DURING JOE CAMEL YEARS

ATLANTA - The Joe Camel years of cigarette advertising saw a 73
percent increase in the number of American youngsters who became daily
smokers, the government says.

In 1996, the year before the Joe Camel ad campaign was retired, an
estimated 1.2 million Americans age 18 or younger - more than 3,000
young people each day - became daily smokers, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention said yesterday.

The CDC said tobacco ads that rely heavily on giveaways and cartoons
are partly to blame. The Joe Camel campaign by R.J. Reynolds began in
1988.

Between that year and 1996, the number of Americans 18 or younger who
picked up a daily smoking habit jumped 73 percent, up from an
estimated 708,000 in 1988, the CDC said.

"It's terrible news," said Dr. Gary Giovino, chief epidemiologist for
the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health. "It's almost like it's being
more glamorized," he said. "A very important part of that is
advertising and promotion."

The rate at which teens became smokers also increased by 50 percent.
In 1996, 77 of every 1,000 nonsmoking teens picked up the habit. In
1988, the rate was 51 per 1,000.

R.J. Reynolds introduced Joe Camel in ads for its Camel cigarettes.
Joe Camel was retired last year after critics including President
Clinton said the character was a blatant example of cigarette
marketing aimed at children.

R.J. Reynolds spokeswoman Jan Smith said peer pressure and smoking
parents are what drive most teens to smoke, not advertising.

"It just doesn't make sense to say Joe Camel fueled youth smoking,"
Smith said. "We have long said that campaign was aimed at adult
smokers, period.

R.J. Reynolds "does not want children to smoke," she
said.

The study was based on surveys of 78,330 Americans, aged 12 to 66,
conducted by the CDC between 1994 and 1997. Nationwide estimates were
extrapolated from that sample.

Those interviewed were asked if they ever had a daily smoking habit
and if so, when they started. They were also asked at what age they
took their first puff.

In calculations back to 1965, the CDC estimates the rate for beginning
smokers peaked in 1977, when 67 of every 1,000 potential smokers
developed a habit. The lowest rate - 44 per 1,000 - was in 1983. Daily
smoking rates began steadily increasing again in 1988.

"After Joe Camel was introduced, then the promotional-type strategies
kicked in," rewarding smokers with coupons and trinkets that
encouraged them to buy more cigarettes, Giovino said. "A lot of
parents weren't aware of Camel cash and that stuff, but kids were."

The CDC said its survey mirrored previous studies that estimated more
than 3,000 Americans under 18 become habitual smokers each day. The
agency also estimates 32 percent of smokers will die from
smoking-related illnesses.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry