Utah Attorney General Dann Says R.J. Reynolds Is Contemptible

Files suit seeking more than $5,000,000 in penalties for cigarette maker’s violations of cartoon advertising ban

Dec. 4, 2007 -- Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann today asked Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Fais to hold R.J. Reynolds (RJR) in contempt and fine the cigarette maker more than $5,000,000 for violating the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) the tobacco industry signed with Ohio, 44 other states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories in 1998.

According to Mr. Dann’s pleading, a nine-page advertising spread that appeared in the November 15, 2007 edition of Rolling Stone magazine violates provisions of the MSA that expressly prohibit the use of cartoons to advertise or promote tobacco products. The attorneys general of eight other states will file similar actions later today.

“Few, if any, companies in the United States are as contemptible as R.J. Reynolds which makes the filing of a contempt motion against them not just warranted, but totally appropriate,” Mr. Dann said. “RJR has repeatedly walked up to—and in our opinion—crossed the advertising and marketing boundaries encompassed within the MSA and they must be held accountable for these willful violations.”

The Attorney General said he understood why the company continues to aggressively market its products despite having signed an agreement that placed severe restrictions on such activity. “When you produce a product that kills a significant proportion of your customer base each year, you obviously have to create new customers,” he said. “And since research clearly shows that the vast majority of smokers begin using cigarettes during their teen years, RJR has obviously decided that the best way to generate profits is to entice young people to light up by using cartoons and other promotional gimmicks to pound home the message that smoking is ‘cool.’”

“Unfortunately, as we all know, smoking isn’t cool, it’s lethal. That why attorneys general from around the country insisted that stringent anti-youth marketing provisions be included in the MSA, and that is why it is important for us to enforce them,” Mr. Dann said.

The Attorney General explained that he asked Judge Fais to impose the $5,000,000 civil penalty for two reasons: because RJR only cares about money, and because of the need to fund effective counter-marketing campaigns. “Frankly, RJR could care less if they’re held in contempt. But they will care if we take a fairly sizeable chunk out of their bottom line and use it to convince kids that sucking hundreds of carcinogens into their lungs 20 times a day won’t make them popular, but it could well make them dead,” he said.

This suit marks the second time this year that the Attorney General has reacted vigorously to an RJR promotional campaign. He had previously castigated the company by letter for marketing their Camel 9 brand to young girls. “Because this company has no compunction about marketing its dangerous product to the most impressionable age group in our society, I have no compunction about using all the power and resources at my disposal to stop them,” Mr. Dann said.

“I am proud to join with my colleagues in the other states who are taking a stand against RJR and it is my hope that we will soon be joined by AGs from across the nation who share our belief that this company must be held accountable for violating the MSA and endangering our kids,” he concluded.

To view the ads in question, please visit the Ohio Attorney General’s website: www.ag.state.oh.us. A link to downloadable PDF versions of the ads as well as the motion filed today in Franklin County Common Pleas Court may be found on the front page of the site.

Source: Ohio Attorney General