NATION : Reynolds to Drop Misleading Ads That Mention Smoking Studies

The nation’s second-largest tobacco company today agreed not to run ads misrepresenting the results of studies linking smoking and health problems, the Federal Trade Commission said.

The settlement by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the maker of more than 20 cigarette brands including Winston, Camel and Salem, was in response to an FTC complaint that Reynolds made false and misleading claims about a smoking study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The institute is part of the National Institutes of Health, a federal health agency based in Bethesda, Md.

The agreement is the latest in a series of setbacks for Reynolds. In the past 18 months, it has dropped plans for several new cigarette brands, under pressure from the government or consumer groups or both.