Youth Smoking and the Tobacco Industry

This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

Youth Smoking and the Industry

This 1989 proposal from Tobacco Institute consultant Peter G. Sparber consists of two documents; the first describes the program and second is actually the last page of the first document.

In the program description[1], Sparber summarizes the threat that the youth smoking issue poses to the industry, and what has been done so far to address it. He says why these efforts have been weak and suggests possible fixes. He then discusses the pros and cons of each proposed fix.

The last page of the document, titled "Benefits," describes the benefits a youth smoking prevention program could have for the industry: a youth program could "help shift the issue from the federal to the state level which would take longer and remain incomplete;" the strategy could help the industry redefine the issue from the industry's irresponsibility to parents' failure to control their children. [2]