Skip to main content
Home

Mobile Main Menu

  • REC Home Page
  • FCC FM Filing Services
  • Low Power FM (LPFM)
  • REC Tools
  • Reference
  • FM/LPFM Filing Windows
  • How To Support REC
  • Contact REC

Breadcrumb

  • Home

Michi on YouTube

Other tools & info

  • Filing Window Tracking
  • Enforcement Actions
  • REC Advisory Letters
  • FAQ-Knowledge Base
  • U/D Ratio Calculator
  • Propagation Curves
  • Runway Slope/REC TOWAIR
  • Coordinate Conversion
  • PREMIS: Address Profile
  • Spare Call Sign List
  • FCC (commercial) filing fees
  • Class D FM stations in Alaska
  • ARRR: Pirate radio notices
  • Unlicensed broadcasting (part 15)
  • FMmap - broadcast atlas
  • Federal Register
  • Rate Card & Policies
  • REC system status
  • Server Status
  • REC Systems Changelog
  • Complete site index
Select FAQ Category:

FAQ: Can a radio station accept underwriting/advertising for a smoke shop or stores with the word "cigarette" in the name?

In most cases, you can't, however, in some isolated cases, you can.

No cigarettes or “little cigars”

Cigarette advertising on radio and television was originally banned in 1971 under Section 6 of the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1969.  The Little Cigar Act of 1973 extends the 1969 law by adding a definition of “little cigar” as any roll of tobacco wrapped in leaf tobacco or any substance containing tobacco other than a cigarette. 

No smokeless tobacco products

The Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 extended the advertising ban to include smokeless tobacco products.

No to “roll your own” tobacco & papers

According to the Washington State Association of Broadcasters, the ban also includes “roll your own” products such as cigarette papers and tobacco.

Big cigars and pipes are OK

The ban does not include regular cigars, stogies, pipes, pipe tobacco and other paraphernalia used by pipe smokers.

Business names with the word “cigarette” in them are NOT OK

WSAB further warns that the use of “cigarette” in the name of a sponsor/underwriter is also prohibited.  Even if advertising/underwriting copy does not include a smoking product, radio stations are unable to take advertising/underwriting from a store with a name like “Joe’s Cigarette and Convenience Store” because the word “cigarette” is in the name.

What about vapes (e-cigarettes)?

Currently, the advertising of e-cigarette/vaping products is legal, however, major television networks have voluntarily refused to accept such advertising.

LPFM program content/station operations/noncommercial nature
Sat, 04/27/2024 - 12:00
Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1969
15 USC §1335 Unlawful advertisements on medium of electronic communication
15 USC §4402 Smokeless tobacco warning (see paragraph (c))
Washington State Association of Broadcasters – Miscellaneous Advertising Issues
NPR TV Broadcasters to Stop Taking E-Cigarette Ads
New York Times: TV Networks Take Down Juul and Other E-Cigarette Ads

REC Essentials

  • FCC.TODAY
  • FCCdata.org
  • myLPFM Station Management
  • REC site map

The More You Know...

  • Unlicensed Broadcasting
  • Class D Stations for Alaska
  • Broadcasting in Japan
  • Our Jingles

Other REC sites

  • J1 Radio
  • REC Delmarva FM
  • Japan Earthquake Information
  • API for developers

But wait, there's more!

  • Join NFCB
  • Pacifica Network
  • MICHI-FM: slightly off the deep end
  • Report a bug with an REC system

Copyright © REC Networks/Riverton Radio Project Association - All Rights Reserved
EU cookie policy

Please show your support by using the Ko-Fi link at the bottom of the page. Thank you for supporting REC's efforts!