Tobacco: Tar Czar

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Sales of cigarettes, which fell sharply after the Surgeon General's report in January, have lit up again. Last week the Internal Revenue Service reported a steady gain—29 billion smokes shipped in February, 38 billion in March, 44 billion in April. The April total was almost 5% higher than that for the same month last year.

Tobaccomen still must puff easily on their advertising. Pressured by the Federal Trade Commission, nine cigarette companies formed the Cigarette Advertising Code, Inc. Last week they named a smoke warden to administer the code: Lawyer Robert B. Meyner, 55, former (1954-62) Governor of New Jersey.

Meyner—who will work part-time for an undisclosed salary—will have authority to filter out ads that are pitched to youngsters or suggest that smoking promotes success, social acceptance, health or virility. His first act was to put in a word for the sponsors: "I think it is rather remarkable that people with a great deal of self-interest have set up a code that goes so far. I feel it can be enforced." To help him handle cigarette makers who would rather fight than switch, he can levy fines up to $100,000. Meyner, once a heavy smoker, now limits himself to half a dozen after dinner. Which brand? "The code says I have to be impartial."