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Excerpts from SMOKE GETS IN YOUR . . .
ANTI-TOBACCO ADS AIM TO HIT MEN WHERE IT HURTS

by Melanie Wells, USA Today [06/02-3]

Cigarette smoking is linked to male impotence in an aggressive anti-tobacco campaign launched in California Monday.

In two of 25 TV and print ads, cigarettes dangling from the lips of handsome men are shown going limp.

"Medical researchers believe cigarettes are a leading cause of impotence," the voice-over says. The tag line: "Cigarettes. Still think they're sexy?"

Another commercial shows how cigarette ads might appeal to underage smokers. In it, a Camel ad depicts an attractive woman with a Camel logo on her hand. "Has the tobacco industry really stopped marketing to kids or is it just getting smarter?" a voice-over asks.

John Slade, the chairman of the Nicotine Dependence Committee for the American Society of Addiction Medicine, applauds California's effort but says anti-smoking advertising is dwarfed by the billions that the tobacco industry spends annually on advertising and promotions.

"The tobacco industry has the advantage of sheer volume," he says. "Counter-tobacco advertising amounts to less than $ 100 million a year."

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