UST’s Unit to Suspend Some Advertising

UST Inc.’s smokeless tobacco unit will suspend advertising in four magazines as it studies claims it violated a 1998 legal settlement by targeting children with its ads.

United States Smokeless Tobacco, the world’s biggest maker of smokeless tobacco, or snuff, will stop advertising in Sports Illustrated, Hot Rod, Motor Trend and Sporting News pending a review, the company said. UST advertises in almost 50 publications.

The Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program this week accused UST of targeting teens by advertising in nine magazines. The company had stopped placing ads in five of the publications, including Rolling Stone. UST agreed not to market to teens as part of a 1998 settlement with U.S. states that sued to recover health-care costs related to tobacco users.

Shares of Greenwich, Conn.-based UST rose 7 cents to $38.55 on the New York Stock Exchange.