FTC wants to curb tar-nicotine claims in cigarette ads

0 Comments | USA TODAY, July, 2008 | by Wendy Koch

Tobacco companies could no longer imply government approval when they advertise cigarettes as "light" or "low-tar" under a proposal announced Tuesday.

The Federal Trade Commission wants to bar manufacturers from using a test known as the "FTC method" to say a cigarette is low in tar or nicotine. Its proposal says the FTC no longer believes that measurement accurately gauges risk and does not want smokers to think some cigarettes are safe.

"We want to clarify the FTC's position," says associate director Mary Engle. "This test method does not have our stamp of approval." The proposal would rescind a 1966 policy that allowed tobacco ads to cite tar and nicotine amounts "per FTC method."

"This would represent a fundamental change" for the FTC if it is...