Since 1993, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been studying the possibility of regulating nicotine in tobacco as an addictive drug. The agency has been particularly concerned with combating nicotine addiction among juveniles. To prevent minors from obtaining cigarettes, in August 1996 the FDA instituted new rules concerning tobacco sales and advertising. Included in the new measures is a controversial ban on promotional items such as t-shirts and caps sporting cigarette brand logos, which are usually given away in exchange for proofs of purchase from cigarette packages.

Anti-tobacco activists applaud the FDA rules, arguing that they are necessary to reverse the increase in teenage smoking that has occurred in the 1990s. John F. Banzhaf III, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), attributes the increase in teenage smoking to the marketing and promotional giveaways...