Over the past ten years, the prevalence of smoking in this country has become increasingly subjected to more factors than just the effects of Tobacco advertisements. As Anti-tobacco campaigns become more common in the form of Tobacco Control Programs, the Tobacco Industry's response to these efforts has played an important role in the converging trends of tobacco consumption between Youth and Adults. As the prevalence of smoking among adults has decreased over the last decade, smoking trends among youth have risen What factors from both ends of the tobacco movement spectrum have contributed to this pattern?

The signing of the Master Settlement Agreement on November 23, 1998 is an important marker for the changing trends of tobacco consumption as well as a milestone for the Anti-Tobacco movement. But really how effective is the Master Settlement Agreement? Is this country finally winning the war against an industry that profits from a lethal addiction, or does the MSA represent another realm in which the Tobacco Industry has displayed its persuasive and manipulative powers?

One of the major aims of the MSA was to decrease the amount of advertising focused on Youth, by limiting Media outlets and funding Prevention, Education and Cessation programs. Since then, all Tobacco Industry funds that had once been focused on areas in which they are now prohibited, had not been subtracted from their budget for advertising, but rather, diverted towards other forms of advertising. Philip Morris has increased ad spending in magazines nearly $30 million in response to the MSA.

Those who have allocated their settlement funds most effectively towards Tobacco programs have revealed significant decreases in Youth smoking. The task of prioritizing these funds towards these programs remains to be the most important factor in Tobacco control, even over governmental regulation.