According to documents released today, R.J. Reynolds used the cartoon character Joe Camel to target young smokers. In response, President Clinton has urged Congress to act quickly on tobacco legislation. After a background report, the man who released the documents, Congressman Henry Waxman, joins a discussion on what the federal government should do about under-aged smoking.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: On Capitol Hill today, the tobacco industry took another hit. California Congressman Henry Waxman released more than 80 documents from R. J. Reynolds, the maker of Camel and Winston cigarettes, illustrating, in his terms, the companies long-time plan to attract underage smokers.
Congressman Waxman makes an accusation.
REP. HENRY WAXMAN: This meeting today and these documents we're releasing today show that at least one major tobacco company consciously and skillfully targeted our children in a campaign to get them to smoke at an age as young as 14. These documents literally bring us into the boardrooms of RJR. They show that RJR's most senior executives developed and implemented a sophisticated plan to market their cigarettes to our children.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: Waxman obtained the documents from California lawyer Janet Manjini, who sued RJR in 1991 to stop the Joe Camel campaign. According to the documents, R. J. Reynolds, creators of the popular Joe Camel cartoon advertising campaign, used the leather jacket, pool playing cartoon character to target potential young smokers. The co-creator of the ad campaign wrote a memo, which he marked "secret," to the R. J. Reynolds marketing officials in 1986, stating the Joe Camel campaign would use peer acceptance, influence to motivate the target audience to take up cigarettes, convincing target smokers that by selecting Camel as their usual brand, they will project an image that will enhance their acceptance among peers.
Twelve years earlier, on September 30, 1974, the marketing vice president told the board of directors that young people "represent tomorrow's cigarette business, as this fourteen to twenty-eight age group matures, they will account for a key share of the total cigarettes volume for at least the next 25 years." He went on to say, "Our strategy becomes clear for our establishment brands: Direct advertising appeals to the younger smokers." R. J. Reynolds released a statement today reacting to Congressman Waxman and the release of the documents. "Our documents reflect the social attitudes of the times in which they were created. Reynolds Tobacco Company's position and policy have remained constant: that smoking is a choice for adults and marketing programs are directed at those above the legal age to smoke." Congress will consider comprehensive legislation to reduce youth smoking. That was part of last summer's settlement between the state attorneys general and the tobacco industry.
The proposed tobacco settlement.
MICHAEL MOORE: We are here today to announce what we think is, we know, we believe is the most historic public health achievement in history.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: In the settlement, which Congress must approve and the President must sign, the tobacco industry would pay $368.5 billion over 25 years for anti-smoking campaigns. The industry's legal liability would be capped at $5 billion a year. Any future class action lawsuits would be barred. The FDA would regulate nicotine and cigarettes but only within certain restraints, and could not eliminate nicotine entirely for 12 years, and tobacco companies would have to reduce youth smoking by set amounts, or face financial penalties. In September, President Clinton suggested changes to the settlement, including increasing tax on cigarettes to $1.50 per pack. Today, the President called on Congress to incorporate those changes into a comprehensive bill that he can sign.
PRESIDENT CLINTON: For five years we've done everything in our power to protect our children from the dangers of tobacco. I've called for strong bipartisan legislation to reduce smoking, especially by young people. The documents that came to light today show more than ever why it is absolutely imperative that Congress take action now to get tobacco companies out of the business of marketing cigarettes to children.
A RealAudio version of this segment is available.
