BREHM: Legislation snuffs Big Tobacco's marketing mayhem  

I applaud Obama's effort to tighten tobacco laws because I, too, share his regret of becoming a smoker as a teen. I tell my three children constantly that starting to smoke is the single biggest regret of my life, and I have struggled to quit numerous times over the past 20 years. I am ashamed to admit that I still find it hard to stop completely.

So I cannot help but commiserate with Obama when he talked about his continuing efforts to stop smoking. . . .

I wish this law would have been approved 30 years ago. I don't remember being influenced as a teen by tobacco marketing, but I see the power a McDonald's commercial has over my own children, and don't doubt my friends and I were impacted by clever ads featuring kid-friendly characters such as Joe Camel.

If this new law prevents teens from starting to smoke, it will go a long way toward making our next generation healthier. And a lot less stinky.

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