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Because of mounting evidence of health risks, television advertisements for cigarettes were banned beginning in 1971. In the 1980s, Congress began to require stronger warning labels on all print advertising; soon afterward it banned smoking on domestic air flights. A 1988 report of the Surgeon General of the United States recognized nicotine as an addictive substance, leading the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider treating nicotine as any other addictive drug and implementing stricter regulations. The authority of the FDA to regulate smoking was, however, denied by the Supreme Court. The habit of smoking continues to increase in the young despite the illegality of cigarette sales to those under 18 years of age in all 50 states.
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a treaty adopted by World Health Organization members in 2003, will establish international standards for antismoking measures once it is ratified. The convention creates restrictions on the marketing and sale of tobacco products and require health warnings on packages of cigarettes. Indoor air quality laws, high taxes on tobacco, and meansures against cigarette smuggling are encouraged under the pact.
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