Peer Pressure a Habit Hard to Kick, Say Local Youths

Reaction to President Clinton’s declaration Friday that tobacco is an addictive drug--and should be regulated as such--was predictable among those who wage war against the habit in Ventura County.

But ask those who smoke cigarettes, especially the underage crowd, and the responses are sharply divided.

“We’re going to keep smoking because we like it, and nobody can stop us,” said a teenager outside The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, flashing a pack of Marlboro 100s in front of his friends.

“We’ve taken all the health-ed classes,” said the boy, who did not want his name used because he hasn’t told his parents about his habit. “We know all about the dangers of smoking.”

Loriza Hol knows the risk she takes when she lights up. The 20-year-old smokes anyway and has since she was 13. But she believes the president’s efforts to regulate advertising, like the popular Joe Camel campaign, will have little impact.

“Just because a camel smokes cigarettes doesn’t make it cool,” she said, standing outside a Ventura liquor store. “I picked it up from my older brother and my mom.”

City and county officials have already taken some of the steps recommended by Clinton--namely banning cigarette vending machines and imposing strict smoking ordinances even before a statewide law took effect.

The new federal restrictions should bolster their efforts, but health officials say more needs to be done.

“It will help, but the issue is much bigger,” said Jeanne Scott, an administrator with the county’s tobacco education project.

“Tobacco has been a part of history from the beginning, and it has been real profitable,” she said. “So we’re in an economic battle. The tobacco companies do everything they can to keep selling tobacco, even when they know it’s a killer.”

Bob Braitman of the local American Cancer Society chapter said Clinton’s decision Friday was a logical extension of the recent trend toward regulating the use of tobacco products.

“The declaration by the president does not prevent anyone from legally buying cigarettes,” Braitman said. “It’s a controlled substance, and 90% of smokers become addicted to smoking in their teens.”

Federal drug regulators hope to cut smoking among American youth in half within seven years, mostly by forcing tobacco companies to spend $150 million on anti-smoking public service announcements.

Clinton’s designation also allows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to impose a series of restrictions on cigarette advertising and sponsorships.

For example, tobacco companies will be prohibited from advertising on billboards within 1,000 feet of a school. Magazine ads would be limited to black-and-white text, banishing characters that some allege are designed specifically to entice children to smoke.

No longer will tobacco companies be allowed to sponsor events such as Winston Cup auto racing, where the firms spend millions of dollars annually.

Smoking-related paraphernalia such as T-shirts and caps also will be banned under the new federal guidelines--a move that cigarette store manager Sue Richards applauded.

Tobacco company “giveaways are what really hurts,” said Richards, who manages the Cigarettes Cheaper store in Ventura. “They’ve got the cool stuff that kids really want.”

Every day, at least three or four kids try to buy cigarettes at the Ventura Avenue shop, Richards said. “You’re not even allowed in here unless you’re 18,” she said.

At The Oaks mall, several young people said Clinton’s declaration that tobacco is indeed an addictive drug is a no-brainer.

But they questioned whether the proposed measures for reducing youth smoking would work, pointing out that peer pressure--not Joe Camel or other flashy ads--pushes teens to take up the habit.

“Cracking down on ads and billboards and things like that should help, but the problem is young people pressuring other young people to smoke,” said Roula Abu-Sada, a 16-year-old student at Thousand Oaks High School. “I don’t know what they can do about that.”

She said that many of her classmates smoke and that some who don’t often feel out of place when their friends light up.

Melissa Martin, 17, of Camarillo said that advertisements often make smoking seem sexy and that some teens are probably influenced by them. But the tobacco industry’s media campaigns pale in comparison to the tremendous influence young people wield over each other.

“I don’t really pay attention to the ads,” Melissa said. “I think it’s some of my friends who put on the pressure.”

That said, Melissa believes the government effort to curb youth smoking is laudable.

“People start smoking because they think it’s cool, and then they find that they can’t stop,” she said. “It is addictive, and it’s about time they did something about it.”

Other young people were equally pessimistic about prospects for the anti-smoking campaign.

“It’s just one of those things that you do when you’re young,” said another boy who did not want his name used. “You try smoking.”

McDonald is a Times correspondent and Bustillo is a staff writer.

* MAIN STORY: A1