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EIGHT ATTORNEYS GENERAL FILE SUIT AGAINST R.J. REYNOLDS FOR MASTER SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT VIOLATIONS
12/4/2007
Statement by American Legacy Foundation® President and CEO, Cheryl G. Healton, Dr. P.H.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Attorneys general in California, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Maryland and Connecticut today filed lawsuits against R.J. Reynolds claiming violations of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement’s (MSA) prohibitions against the use of cartoons, brand-named merchandise and related promotional activities in cigarette advertising. The American Legacy Foundation commends the attorneys general – enforcers of the MSA – for their bold and decisive action.
The MSA - between 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry – is a sweeping agreement that contains broad restrictions on the marketing, advertising and promotion of cigarettes in the U.S. The MSA prohibits the use of cartoons to market cigarettes and tightly regulates the use of brand name merchandise and related promotional activities. A November 17, 2007, four page insert in Rolling Stone magazine featuring R.J. Reynolds’ “Camel The Farm – Free Range Music” campaign was placed alongside cartoon imagery. The ongoing, multi-pronged campaign also features brand-named merchandise and other promotional activities. Today’s action by the attorneys general comes in response to the “Camel The Farm” campaign.
As part of the MSA, the attorneys general took action in 1998 to assure that Joe Camel – a longstanding R.J. Reynolds campaign clearly designed to appeal to children - and other cartoon images would stay out of media circulation and away from children’s eyes. The promotion of tobacco products has no place positioned beside cartoons and similar imagery that appeal to children and young people. Unfortunately, R. J. Reynolds seems not to have learned this lesson. We applaud the attorneys general for responding so quickly to what clearly appears to be a series of extremely troubling MSA violations.
Just last week, following months of pressure from public health organizations and groups dedicated to protecting and improving women’s health, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company announced its decision to discontinue print advertising in 2008 of its cigarette brands. Despite this long-overdue announcement, it is important to keep in mind that the company has made clear this decision is for one year only and it will continue to spend billions of dollars annually marketing its deadly products through other means.
In 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available, the tobacco industry spent more than $13 billion marketing its products in the United States. We will continue to monitor Reynolds’ marketing activities closely with a particular focus on marketing to youth, including young women who have been the recent targets of Reynolds’ pervasive advertising for its new Camel No. 9 brand.
Unfortunately, Reynolds’ “Camel The Farm” advertising and promotional activities are not isolated events. The state attorneys general previously intervened to stop R.J. Reynolds from marketing candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes to young people. The company had advertised several flavored Camel cigarettes with names like Mandarin Mint, Kauai Kolada, Midnight Madness and Warm Winter Toffee. A 2005 Legacy-funded report, New Cigarette Brands With Flavors That Appeal to Youth: Tobacco Marketing Strategies, compiled once secret tobacco industry documents that revealed the tobacco industry's intention to create cigarette flavors that appeal to young people. In addition, it took legal action from the attorneys general to put a stop to R.J. Reynolds’ Kool Mixx campaign, targeted to urban youth.
The American Legacy Foundation® is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation’s programs include truth®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use; and a nationally-renowned program of outreach to priority populations. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.americanlegacy.org.
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Contact: Julia Cartwright, 202-454-5596, jcartwright@americanlegacy.org