Support of the American Cancer Society

To Whom It May Concern:

Tobacco advertising means increased tobacco consumption. The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars every year advertising cigarettes, and the most heavily advertised brands are the ones consistently chosen by young people beginning to smoke. Tobacco industry documents obtained by health advocates show that the industry carefully studies the desires of their potential customers, including women and children, and uses that research to develop advertisements aimed at those groups.

I hope that Members of Parliament will not cave in to pressure from the tobacco industry and its allies, who seek to postpone implementation of this important measure in order to protect their profits at the expense of public health. The tobacco industry has a long history of lobbying to defeat efforts to restrict advertising. They consistently predict that ad bans will have serious economic effects on advertisers, the media, and the national economy as a whole. In most countries, tobacco advertising actually constitutes a small percentage of total advertising revenue, and countries implementing ad bans see revenues recovered quickly from other advertisers.

The World Bank has found that comprehensive advertising bans reduce cigarette consumption, while partial advertising restrictions can be expected to have little or no effect on consumption - the tobacco merely shifts its advertising to another medium if only partial restrictions are in place.

Tobacco companies frequently offer voluntary codes of conduct to undercut support for advertising restrictions. These proposals are usually designed for public relations purposes only, and are ineffective and only intended to forestall government action. Tobacco companies also circumvent partial advertising bans through sports sponsorship, giving away promotional items such as hats, t-shirts, and lighters marked with cigarette brand names, and even by selling clothing, records, and coffee with cigarette brand names.

As Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society, I feel a special obligation to encourage international cooperation in connection with the control of cancer. I hope that my comments will be useful to you as you go forward to protect the health of the people of Georgia.

Sincerely,

John Seffrin,
Chief Executive Officer