Regulators want more warnings on cigars

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators asked Congress on Wednesday to mandate tough new health warnings on cigar labels and advertising, and said cigar sales rose more than 40 percent in the latest annual figures.

The Federal Trade Commission issued recommendations with three specific health warning labels and also urged a ban on television and radio cigar advertising. The commission pointed to documented health risks associated with cigars in compiling their findings.

"Regular cigar smokers are at risk of mouth and throat cancer similar to that of cigarette smokers," said FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky. There "may be people under the misimpression that if they switch to cigars they are in safe harbors."

The commission has the power to require labels on its own but opted instead to refer its recommendations to Congress. Sen. Dick Durbin, R-Ill., and Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., are reintroducing legislation that would go slightly further in treating cigars like other tobacco products.

Most cigar boxes already include a label required under a settlement of a California court case, which says the product "contains/produces chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects and other reproductive harm."

But the commission offered these three stronger warning labels to be used in rotation and displayed prominently on the packages or boxes that cigars typically come in:n Warning: Regular cigar smoking can cause cancers of the mouth and throat, even if you do not inhale.

- Warning: Inhaling cigar smoke can cause lung cancer. The more deeply you inhale, the greater your risk.

- Warning: Cigars are not a safe alternative to cigarettes.

For cigars sold individually, the FTC suggested retailers should post signs in their shops.

The commission also reported a 15 percent increase in cigar unit sales and a 43 percent increase in dollar sales from 1996 to 1997, based on information from the five leading domestic cigar manufacturers. Cigar makers said sales, based on wholesale price, rose from $613 million to $876 million from 1996 to 1997.

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