Cigarette Ads

Your March 11 editorial “Goodby to ‘Old Joe,’ ” contained several factual errors that I would like to correct.

First and foremost, the Camel campaign is not targeted to young people. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is strongly opposed to youth smoking, and has multimillion-dollar programs in place to help counteract the peer pressure that young people feel to experiment with cigarettes, and to better enforce laws that set minimum ages to purchase cigarettes.

The statistics the article referred to regarding Camel’s share of market among underage smokers are incorrect. According to a report released March, 1992, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, about 1% of all young people are smoking Camel.

Overall, youth smoking rates are on the decline. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that smoking incidence among high school seniors has declined by more than 35% in the last 15 years, including a 3% drop in 1991 alone.

The studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. were badly flawed and are more accurately referred to as advocacy pieces, not research. For example, the often-quoted claim that Joe Camel is as recognizable as Mickey Mouse was based on a sample size of only 23 6-year-olds. Across the entire segment of children tested, only 51% recognized Joe Camel, versus 91% recognition of Mickey Mouse. The authors themselves said in that study, “It is obviously impossible to predict how the exposure of children to environmental tobacco advertising might influence their later smoking behavior.”

There is no evidence that the Camel campaign has caused more youth to begin smoking. With adult and youth smoking rates on the decline, and virtual total awareness of the smoking and health controversy, is the answer an advertising ban or more attention to peer pressure, parental influence and youth access to age restricted products? That type of social engineering might address the concern.

TOM C. GRISCOM

Executive Vice President

R.J. Reynolds

Winston-Salem, N.C.