Viral diarrhoeas in childhood.

ing expenditure on the reasonable assumption that advertising is subject to diminishing returns. Accordingly, an outright ban is likely to have far more effect than marginal changes. The report also considered survey evidence that nearly half of all smokers agree that "smoking cannot be really dangerous or the government would ban cigarette advertising. "8 The conclusion from the evidence amassed in the Department of Health's report is clearly that tobacco advertising affects the level of tobacco consumption. The government's white paper The Health of the Nation has set a target to reduce consumption of cigarettes by 40°/ and the prevalence of smoking to 20% by 200O.9 To this end the government has committed itself to maintaining the real value of cigarette excise duty. This is by no means sufficient to achieve these targets,'" which are necessarily ambitious, to cut morbidity and mortality from cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Even with a considerable annual increase in real price and health education meeting these targets without an advertising ban is unlikely. The government has already banned tobacco advertising on television and accepts the need to control advertising. If control is good a ban must be better, and anything less would seem second best for health.