Big Tobacco’s Big Lies
There isn’t a tobacco leaf broad enough to cover the latest revelations: Not only did R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. deliberately entice young teens--children, really--to smoke, but for most of the past quarter-century company officials swore up and down, including to Congress, that they were doing no such thing. At minimum, venality of this magnitude by successive RJR executives merits swift and severe criminal prosecution for perjury by the U.S. Justice Department. Equally imperative is tough legislation giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the muscle it wants and needs to rein in an industry that seems entirely comfortable trading profits for young lives.
In a new cache of internal documents released Wednesday, the nation’s second-leading cigarette manufacturer lays bare Reynolds’ plans as far back as 1973 to market directly to teens as young as 13. According to its own memos, Reynolds, which sells Camel brand cigarettes, was anxious to gain market share against its major competitors in “this young adult market ... represent[ing] tomorrow’s cigarette business.” The stakes for companies like RJR have been high, of course, because today’s older smokers have an unfortunate tendency to die of their addiction.
The documents were released by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), a longtime industry critic. He got them from attorneys in California who obtained them from RJR in a case settled last fall accusing the company of deceptive marketing practices. A Texas case about to settle and a Minnesota case going to trial may reveal more.
Several memos reveal the evolution of the company’s highly successful Joe Camel advertising campaign. They state that billboards should be placed wherever young people congregate--near fast-food restaurants, basketball courts, video game arcades and record stores. This while Reynolds steadfastly denied that Joe Camel was designed to appeal to young smokers, even as they ended the dromedary’s career as a pitchman last year under intense pressure from the Federal Trade Commission and others.
Astonishingly, with the release of these memos, Reynolds officials still deny they targeted children--whom they euphemistically referred to as “learning smokers” and “beginning smokers.” Company representatives insisted Wednesday that the documents were taken out of context and even that typographical errors made references to 18-year-olds into 14-year-olds. Oh, sure.
Typos or no, Waxman intends to hand these documents to Atty. Gen. Janet Reno as part of the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal probe into whether the industry misled government officials about their intentions toward kids. Perjury convictions should swiftly follow.
