Holy Smokes!

No kidding...1930s print advertisement for The Rat Cigarettes, sold by Hwa Ching Tobacco Co., Ltd., Shanghai. Hmmm.

As Philip Elliott of the Associated Press wrote in his article today titled Obama signs anti-smoking bill, cites own struggle:

"President Barack Obama cited his own struggle to quit the cigarettes he got hooked on as a teenager as he signed the nation's strongest-ever anti-smoking bill Monday and praised it for providing critically needed protections for kids.

...Obama said almost 90 percent of people who smoke began at age 18 or younger, snared in a dangerous and hard-to-kick habit.

...Before dozens of invited guests, including children from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, the president signed legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented authority to regulate tobacco.

Obama accused the tobacco industry of targeting young people, exposing them to a "constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live, where they learn and where they play. Most insidiously, they are offered products with flavorings that mask the taste of tobacco and make it even more tempting."

The new law bans candy and fruit flavors in tobacco products, and it limits advertising that could attract young people."