Wednesday, February 27, 2002

Doctors say tobacco industry trying to lure teens into smoking with campaigns

TORONTO (CP) - A coalition of medical and health groups urged the tobacco industry Wednesday to end its anti-smoking campaigns aimed at teenagers, saying the campaigns are actually insidious attempts to entice that all-important group to take up smoking.

Campaigns like Operation ID and Wise Decisions - a pilot project of curriculum materials for schools - remain silent about the health risks oftobacco but instead portray smoking as an activity for adults only - a description that could in fact increase its appeal among teens, said Dr. Kenneth Sky, president of the Ontario Medical Association.

"As doctors, we are certainly not naive about the fact that youth face a variety of pressures and decisions as they go through adolescence," Sky told a news conference.

"But the last thing they need are adults who tell them that they have a choice in a matter" - whether to smoke or not - "when the medical evidence is overwhelmingly clear that they should have no choice."

The news conference was called by the Ontario Medical Association and the Canadian Medical Association, which delivered letters outlining the demand to Canada's three largest tobacco companies Wednesday.

The demand was endorsed by the Canadian Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Lung Association.

The coalition also charged that another motive behind the industry campaigns was to fend off further government restrictions on tobacco products, citing documents filed in U.S. lawsuits against tobacco companies.

"The tobacco industry's own documents clearly demonstrate that their motives for these programs are diversionary tactics to avoid legislation and control programs being implemented, said CMA president Dr. Henry Haddad.

"These programs are more tactical than practical," Sky added.

The coalition asked community groups involved in the industry's programs aimed at teens to reassess and withdraw their support for these campaigns.

And they suggested that if the tobacco companies truly want to help in the fight to keep teenagers from taking up smoking, they could turn the funds spent on their programs over to groups like the OMA and CMA to design effective anti-smoking programs.