[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4279 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4279

 To require studies by the Federal Trade Commission of whether tobacco 
advertisements target women and minorities to promote smoking, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 1994

Ms. Roybal-Allard (for herself, Mrs. Collins of Illinois, Mrs. Unsoeld, 
  Ms. Harman, Ms. Schenk, Ms. Waters, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Foglietta, Ms. 
 Furse, Mr. Torres, Mr. Serrano, Mrs. Mink, Mr. Underwood, Ms. Eshoo, 
     Mr. Dellums, Mr. Romero-Barcelo, Mr. Synar, and Ms. Shepherd) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require studies by the Federal Trade Commission of whether tobacco 
advertisements target women and minorities to promote smoking, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tobacco Advertising and Promotion 
Studies Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (a) Advertising.--The Congress makes the following findings 
respecting advertising of tobacco products:
            (1) The tobacco industry spends over $4 billion annually to 
        advertise and promote cigarette products.
            (2) Since 1964, the tobacco industry has had a voluntary 
        advertising code which it claims was implemented to 
        sufficiently ensure against children and teenagers being 
        encouraged to smoke cigarettes and which, according to the 
        tobacco industry, prohibits the advertising of cigarette 
        products from making implied or direct health claims.
            (3) The voluntary advertising code which the tobacco 
        industry claims is a sufficient safeguard against improper 
        advertising and marketing practices recommends that cigarette 
        advertising shall not suggest that cigarette smoking is 
        ``essential'' to sexual attraction, success, sophistication, or 
        good health and that models in cigarette advertisements shall 
        be at least 25 years of age and shall not be made to appear 
        under such age.
            (4) Despite the existence of, and alleged compliance by the 
        tobacco industry with, the voluntary advertising code, a number 
        of studies have shown that cigarette advertising may be an 
        important factor in encouraging youth, women, and minorities to 
        take up the cigarette smoking habit and may reinforce decisions 
        to continue to smoke.
    (b) Women.--The Congress makes the following findings respecting 
women and tobacco:
            (1) The fastest growing sector of smokers in the United 
        States are women under the age of 23. Approximately 2,000 girls 
        and young women smoke their first cigarette every day.
            (2) It is expected that between the years 2005 and 2010, 
        the number of women dying from smoking related diseases will 
        exceed the number of men so dying.
            (3) Each year tobacco kills more than 147,000 women in the 
        United States, mostly through cigarette smoking induced heart 
        disease, lung cancer, and other lung diseases.
            (4) As smoking by women has increased, lung cancer in women 
        has skyrocketed. In 1987 lung cancer surpassed breast cancer as 
        the leading cancer killer of women.
            (5) Women who smoke as little as 1 to 4 cigarettes each day 
        increase their risk of heart attack by 2 to 3 times.
            (6) In 1991 for the first time in more than a decade the 
        prevalence of smoking among women actually increased rather 
        than decreased.
            (7) Women who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy increase 
        the risk for low birth weight and premature infants, 
        miscarriage, stillbirths, sudden infant death syndrome, and 
        infant mortality.
            (8) Pregnant women who smoke deliver babies an average of 
        one-half inch shorter and 7 ounces lighter than the babies of 
        nonsmoking mothers. There is a 25 to 50 percent higher rate of 
        fetal and infant death among women who smoke during pregnancy 
        compared with those who do not smoke. It is estimated that 
        4,000 infants die each year because of their mother's smoking.
            (9) Approximately 44 percent of all women who currently 
        smoke have attempted to quit smoking in the past year.
            (10) Cigarette smoking increases women's risk of 
        contracting cervical cancer.
    (c) Minorities.--The Congress makes the following findings 
respecting minorities and tobacco:
            (1) Tobacco use by African-Americans is responsible for 
        nearly 48,000 deaths each year in the United States.
            (2) Tobacco companies aggressively target members of the 
        African-American community and the growing Hispanic population, 
        particularly in the urban, inner-city environment.
            (3) As of 1991, 29.2 percent of African-American adults 
        (aged 18 and older) smoked cigarettes, including 35.1 percent 
        of African-American men and 24.4 percent of African-American 
        women.
            (4) As of 1991, 16 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander adults 
        (aged 18 and older) smoked cigarettes, including 24.2 percent 
        of Asian/Pacific Islander men and 7.5 percent of Asian/Pacific 
        Islander women.
            (5) As of 1991, 31.4 percent of American Indian/Alaskan 
        Natives adults (aged 18 and older) smoked cigarettes, including 
        27.9 percent of American Indian/Alaskan Natives men and 35.2 
        percent of American Indian/Alaskan Natives women.
            (6) As of 1991, 20.2 percent of Hispanic adults (aged 18 
        and older) smoked cigarettes, including 25.2 percent of 
        Hispanic men and 15.5 percent of Hispanic women.
            (7) African Americans suffer from tobacco-related disease 
        at a higher rate than whites, including a higher incidence of 
        respiratory system, esophagus, and oral cavity cancers.
            (8) Lung cancer is increasing among Hispanic men.

SEC. 3. TOBACCO ADVERTISING STUDIES.

    (a) Studies.--The Federal Trade Commission shall conduct the 
following studies which should be based on existing studies and on 
significant original market research:
            (1) Women and minorities.--A study of current tobacco 
        advertising to determine--
                    (A) if and in what forms such advertising and 
                promotion uses themes, graphics, and techniques which 
                are likely to appeal specifically to (i) girls and 
                women and (ii) minorities in ways that make smoking 
                attractive to them, and
                    (B) whether targeting girls, women, and minorities 
                increases tobacco use.
        In connection with such study, advertising of alcoholic 
        beverages shall be reviewed to determine the extent to which 
        such advertising targets girls and women and minorities.
            (2) Weight loss and maintenance.--
                    (A) In general.--A study of current cigarette 
                advertising and promotion to investigate the targeting 
                of girls and women in cigarette advertising and 
                promotion and tobacco companies' use of messages in 
                their advertising and promotion, explicitly or 
                implicitly, concerning weight loss and weight 
                maintenance, the wording and overall imagery used in 
                such advertising and promotion and its impact on girls 
                and women, and the perception of girls and women, 
                including smokers and non-smokers, of the relation 
                between the use of tobacco and weight control and 
                maintenance.
                    (B) Terms and imagery.--In conducting the study 
                under subparagraph (A), the Federal Trade Commission 
                shall examine the following:
                            (i) Whether women interpret the use of the 
                        terms ``slim'', ``light'', ``thin'', 
                        ``superslim'', and related terms and the shape 
                        of cigarettes employing such terms as implying 
                        that cigarette smoking results in weight loss 
                        or weight maintenance.
                            (ii) Whether girl's and women's 
                        interpretation of such terms and imagery 
                        accurately reflects the actual effect of 
                        cigarette smoking on weight. In particular, 
                        whether girls and women are knowledgeable about 
                        the transient and reversible nature of any 
                        smoking induced weight loss, the precise 
                        magnitude of weight loss which may be 
                        experienced upon the taking up of smoking, and 
                        the precise magnitude of weight gain which may 
                        be experienced upon smoking cessation.
                            (iii) The relative impact of cigarette 
                        smoking on the health of girls and women and 
                        whether or not girls and women are 
                        knowledgeable about the impact of smoking on 
                        their health.
                            (iv) Whether the Federal Trade Commission 
                        has authority to take action with respect to 
                        advertising and promotion using such terms and 
                        imagery.
                            (v) To the extent that the Federal Trade 
                        Commission does not have the authority to take 
                        needed action, what legislation is needed to 
                        enable the Commission to take action necessary 
                        to fully remedy the study's findings.
            (3) Low yield tobacco products.--
                    (A) In general.--A study of current cigarette 
                advertising and promotion to investigate the apparent 
                targeting of girls and women and tobacco companies use 
                of messages concerning so called low tar/low nicotine 
                cigarettes (hereafter in this paragraph referred to as 
                ``low yield cigarettes''). This shall include the 
                wording and overall imagery used in advertising and 
                promotion for low yield cigarettes and the impact of 
                such advertising and promotion on both male and female 
                user's perception of the relative risk of smoking such 
                cigarettes as opposed to the smoking of non low yield 
                cigarettes or quitting smoking.
                    (B) Terms.--In conducting the study under 
                subparagraph (A), the Federal Trade Commission shall 
                examine the following:
                            (i) Whether men and women tend to interpret 
                        messages and imagery used in the advertising 
                        and promotion of low yield cigarettes to 
                        indicate that smoking such cigarettes is less 
                        hazardous than smoking other cigarettes. The 
                        Commission shall look at consumer's perception 
                        of a wide range of health risks, including 
                        cardiovascular disease, lung and other cancers, 
                        pulmonary diseases, risks during pregnancy, 
                        risk of environmental tobacco smoke exposure to 
                        surrounding individuals, and other risks and 
                        attempt to quantify the degree of risk 
                        reduction perceived by the reasonable consumer. 
                        In addition, the Commission shall examine 
                        whether the perception of male and female 
                        smokers differ in this regard.
                            (ii) Whether men's and women's 
                        interpretation of the wording and imagery used 
                        in advertising and promotion of low yield 
                        cigarettes, as determined under clause (i), 
                        accurately reflects the health hazards of 
                        cigarettes.
                            (iii) Whether men and women who smoke are 
                        likely to be influenced to smoke low yield 
                        cigarettes rather than quit smoking because of 
                        the advertising and promotion of such 
                        cigarettes. In this regard, the Commission 
                        shall examine whether smokers tend to differ 
                        according to whether or not they report being 
                        concerned about smoking's negative impact on 
                        their health and whether male and female 
                        smokers tend to differ from each other in this 
                        regard.
                            (iv) The relative likely impact of smoking 
                        of low yield cigarettes on men's and women's 
                        health relative to quitting smoking.
                            (v) Whether the Federal Trade Commission 
                        has the authority to take action with respect 
                        to advertising and promotion of low yield 
                        cigarettes.
                            (vi) To the extent that the Commission does 
                        not have the authority to take needed action, 
                        what legislation is needed to enable the 
                        Commission to take action necessary to fully 
                        remedy the study's findings.
            (4) Demographics.--
                    (A) In general.--A study of the demographics of 
                targeted audiences of cigarette advertising and 
                promotions which appear to be targeted at girls, women, 
                and minorities, including the age, gender, race, 
                ethnicity, and socio-economic groups of the girls, 
                women, and minorities and, in the case of minorities, 
                the demographics of such advertising and promotions for 
                smokeless tobacco products.
                    (B) Focus.--In conducting the study under 
                subparagraph (A), the Federal Trade Commission shall 
                identify--
                            (i) the media used to apparently target the 
                        groups described in subparagraph (A), including 
                        the types of publications used with their 
                        demographic profile, including the demographic 
                        profile of readers under the age of 18,
                            (ii) the types of promotions used, giving 
                        information about specific venues, and
                            (iii) the amount of money spent in each 
                        category.
    (b) Report.--The Federal Trade Commission shall complete each of 
the studies identified in subsection (a) not later than 9 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act and shall, not later than 12 
months after such date, report to the Congress--
            (1) the results of such studies,
            (2) whether the Federal Trade Commission has the authority 
        to take action on the study's findings,
            (3) any actions the Commission proposes to take on the 
        basis of such findings, and
            (4) to the extent that the Commission does not have the 
        authority to take needed action, what legislation is needed to 
        enable the Commission to take action necessary to fully remedy 
        the study's findings.

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