Report: $57.9 million spent on tobacco ads

Tobacco companies spent $57.9 million marketing their products in Utah in 2005, according to a report released Thursday by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The state-by-state report calculated the amount of cigarette marketing based on national marketing expenditures listed in a recent Federal Trade Commission report and the percentage of cigarette packs sold in each state.

According to the FTC study, tobacco companies have nearly doubled the amount of money spent on marketing since their master settlement agreement with the states in 1998. The agreement, which has funneled $230.2 million into Utah's budget, was intended to cut back tobacco marketing, particularly to American youths.

Along with the release of its report on Thursday, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids called upon Congress to pass pending legislation that would allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority over tobacco products, including the authority to crack down on marketing and sales to children.