Smokes Still Get in Children's Eyes

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"Major tobacco companies agreed to stop pushing for their products to be promoted in the arts from 1998," but "the number of tobacco brand appearances in U.S. films aimed at children has not fallen significantly," according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The percentage of "films aimed at children show[ing] tobacco brand names, or trademarks" fell slightly from 15 to 12, after 1998. Yet, in the ongoing federal racketeering trial against major tobacco companies, industry lawyers claimed companies have "voluntarily" adopted tough advertising restrictions. A Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company lawyer "suggested that the companies had stopped advertising in magazines with youth readerships of more than 15 percent or more than two million," reported the New York Times. Government witness and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids president Matthew Myers disputed the claim, pointing out recent ads in Sports Illustrated.