Bookmarkers beware: Bookmarks to pages other than the home page may not work after we change our server in April Editor's Choice | This Week in BMJ | Press releases BMJ No 7128 Volume 316 News Saturday 31 January 1998 Tobacco company targeted marketing campaign at teenagers Documents released by a California congressman, Henry Waxman, reveal that the tobacco giant R J Reynolds pursued a systematic strategy of attracting adolescents as young as 14 years old to cigarettes. These documents directly contradict the testimony of tobacco company executives given in Congress last June. The confidential papers were obtained by subpoena and consist of internal memorandums that implicate the executives at the highest level in the plans. Realising that young smokers represented the future of the industry and that brand loyalty was established early, R J Reynolds sought to capture the youth market. Photo: TOLES © THE BUFFALO NEWS, REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED For example, a 1975 memorandum on Camel Filters states: "to ensure increased and longer term growth for Camel Filter, the brand must increase its share penetration among the 14-24 age market, which have a new set of more liberal values and which represent tomorrow's cigarette business." Another document from 1974 aims to "direct advertising appeal" at younger smokers so as not to lose them to competitor Philip Morris, the manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes. A 1973 document suggested a "comic book" approach to advertising. The Joe Camel campaign, in which a "cool" comic-like camel was plastered on advertising billboards, started in earnest in 1986. Last year public pressure and a court order forced R J Reynolds to revoke the campaign, although company officials denied that Joe Camel was aimed at teenagers. As recently as 1988, documents reveal that the tobacco company planned to market their products for teenagers, by sponsoring events such as rock concerts and targeting advertisements in places that young people gather and in magazines that they read. Moreover, the documents reveal that the company commissioned surveys on the smoking habits of youngsters as young as 14 and studied their market preferences. Mr Waxman said. "I think that these documents show that our worst fears about tobacco companies going after our kids were justified," he said. In 1994, James Johnston, chief executive of R J Reynolds at the time, said that the company "did not market to children and will not." In a press statement officials at the company continued to deny that they sought to sell cigarettes to underage smokers: "Our documents reflect the social attitudes of the times in which they were created. And while attitudes toward smoking have changed in the past several decades, the Reynolds Tobacco Company's position and policy has remained constant: that smoking is a choice for adults and that marketing programs are directed at those above the age to smoke." The former head of the Food and Drug Administration, David Kessler, who called for tighter regulation of the tobacco industry, said that the documents amount to a "smoking gun," showing that the industry sought to make children addicts. On learning of the documents, President Clinton vowed to punish tobacco companies with more stringent legislation. Congress is expected to vote on the antitobacco legislation when it reconvenes later this month. Passage of the bill is not assured, as tobacco interests are still among the highest contributors to political campaigns. Deborah Josefson San Francisco Home | Current issue | Past issues | Classified ads | Career Focus | Feedback Collections | About this site | About the BMJ | BMA | Medline