RICHMOND, Va. & WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- While tobacco manufacturers have for years been banned from certain forms of advertising, they’ll make a return in November, as part of a federal court order stemming from a 1999 lawsuit.
Two companies—Altria Group Distribution Co., Richmond, Va., and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem, N.C.—will have to cover five topics in newspaper and TV ads, according to Minneapolis-based tobacco-retail organization NATO. The topics include:
- Adverse health effects of smoking
- Addictiveness of smoking and nicotine
- Lack of significant health benefits from smoking “low-tar,” “light,” “ultra light,” “mild” and “natural” cigarettes
- Manipulation of cigarette design and composition to ensure optimum nicotine delivery
- Adverse health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke
A U.S. Department of Justice memo lists the actual corrective statements that need to be published under those topics, according to NATO. For example, one of the corrective statements under the topic "addictiveness of smoking and nicotine” reads: “Smoking is highly addictive. Nicotine is an addictive drug in tobacco.”
The TV ads will appear on ABC, CBS or NBC, with each corrective statement running one time per week for 52 weeks between the hours of 7 and 10 p.m. The airing of the TV ads will begin Sunday, Nov. 26. For newspapers, the ads will be a full page with each containing one of the corrective statements for five nonconsecutive weekends over a six-month time frame, mainly in the Sunday edition of 45 newspapers across the country.
Retailers are not required to post the corrective statements at the point-of-sale (POS), an issue that remains unresolved in the courts, NATO said.
“This industry has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, including becoming regulated by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), which we supported,” said Murray Garnick, executive vice president and general counsel for Altria. “We’re focused on the future and, with the FDA [oversight] in place, working to develop less-risky tobacco products.”
R.J. Reynolds also issued a statement about the ads, saying it is "committed to working to address and resolve many of the controversial issues relating to the use of tobacco." (See the full statement below.)
In 1999, the U.S. government brought a lawsuit against the major cigarette manufacturers asserting claims under several federal statutes for conduct by the companies dating back to the 1950s, NATO said. After a lengthy trial and appeals, the federal courts ruled that the monetary fines and other remedies sought under some of the claims were not available to the federal government under current law. Then in 2006, the federal courts decided in favor of the federal government regarding the need to publish corrective statements.
Today, tobacco is one of the most regulated industries in the country, Altria officials said. The way in which cigarettes are manufactured, marketed and sold has changed markedly since the lawsuit was filed. Advertising restrictions go back to the 1970s, when the government banned cigarette ads on TV and radio, while the master settlement agreement (MSA) of 1998 went further, banning cigarette billboards, stadium advertisements and ads on brand-name merchandise.
Restrictions became even more extensive in 2009, when Congress gave the FDA broad regulatory authority over nearly every aspect of tobacco-product manufacturing and marketing, Altria said.
“We remain committed to aligning our business practices with society’s expectations of a responsible company,” Garnick said. “This includes communicating openly about the health effects of our products, continuing to support cessation efforts, helping reduce underage tobacco use and developing potentially reduced-risk products.”
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