Smoking glamorous? How about a laryngectomy?

BOSTON -- The glamorous star, nostrils flaring, sensually inhales smoke _ everyone knows the image.

Now anti-smoking forces are striking back, with a "message placement" campaign of their own designed to put anti-smoking images _ perhaps even that of a person whose larynx has been removed because of cancer _ on the screen to compete with images of smoking.

The state of Massachusetts, along with Florida and the federal government, is planning a $50,000 campaign designed to counter what anti-tobacco activists say is the industry's past practice of paying for the puffing of leading men and women.

The campaign is a "relatively small investment when you look at the payoff you can get in terms of deglamorizing smoking in Hollywood," said Greg Connolly, director of the Massachusetts tobacco control program. "We're trying to undo the damage done in the past," said Connolly, who said the campaign could pay for placement of anti-smoking images in movies and situation comedies. He suggested a character with a laryngectomy as a possibility.

Under the national tobacco settlement approved last year, the tobacco industry has agreed not to pay for the placement of tobacco products in television shows, theatrical performances, video games and movies.

The cigar industry wasn't affected by the settlement. Cigar product placement has become controversial in recent years as the industry has seen a strong rebound in sales.

Norman Sharp, president of the Cigar Association of America, said "one or two companies" in his industry may have paid to place products, but last year the association amended its voluntary advertising guidelines to "admonish" against product placement in movies or television.

"The cigar has once again captured its traditional image as a symbol of success, celebrity and achievement. It's one of life's little luxuries," said Sharp. "I bridle at the suggestion it's all due to movies. Life's a little more complicated than that."

Brendan McCormick, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA, said that the company had, since the late 1980s, eschewed product placement in movies or TV.

"We strengthen that commitment by incorporating those provisions into the terms of the master settlement," he said. "Generally, Philip Morris is committed to reducing the incidence of youth smoking. ... And we're supportive of communicating effective messages to kids that they shouldn't smoke," he said.

Even with those assurances, Connolly worries that the practice of smoking on the screen won't stop.

Sara Warwick, a spokesman for Arnold Communications, which handles the state's anti-tobacco advertising, said the campaign would target children. "We can run a spot opposite `Dawson's Creek' or we can make the effort to be written into `Dawson's Creek,"' she said. "This is all about reaching the youth market in innovative ways."

Warwick said the state could, for example, pay for a story line on a situation comedy "about a popular kid making the decision not to smoke" or a story line in a drama show about a "parent diagnosed with lung cancer."

Arnold has hired the Catalyst Group of Burbank, Calif., to do the work, she said. "I think it's a pretty intriguing concept," said Lori Fresina, a spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society's Massachusetts chapter. "We do best against the industry when we sort of fight on their ground."