State to sue tobacco firm R.J. Reynolds put on notice

AUGUSTA – Maine has sent notice to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. charging the company has violated the 1999 lawsuit settlement with Maine and other states. Attorney General Steven Rowe said the notice clears the way for Maine to sue the company in state court.

“It’s clear, and in our letter we cite several examples, where the company is violating the master agreement,” Rowe said. “They have placed ads in magazines with substantial youth readership, and that is a violation of the agreement.”

Under terms of the multistate settlement agreement, each state must file notice 30 days before it can bring a lawsuit in state court to enforce provisions of the agreement. Twenty-two other states already have filed notice. Five of them filed lawsuits in their respective state courts earlier this week.

“We are now in a position to bring a suit in Maine courts in two areas where we believe the master settlement has been violated,” said Deputy Attorney General Paul Stern.

But, Stern said, no final decision has been made on when to bring suit. He said the provision requiring notice before a lawsuit could be filed was intended to encourage settlement of disputes.

In the notice sent to the tobacco company, the states charge that Reynolds has placed ads for Camel, Winston and other brands of cigarettes in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Sporting News and Entertainment Weekly throughout 1999 and 2000.

“We believe that Reynolds’ policy and practice of placing tobacco advertisements in publications with a significant youth readership constitutes action to target youth in violation of the Consent Decree,” said Rowe and 22 other state attorneys general in a letter sent to Reynolds.

In a separate notice, Maine and 19 states also charged Reynolds is violating another provision of the settlement agreement that bans marketing, distributing, offering or selling merchandise which bears a cigarette brand name. The merchandise ranges from lighters to jackets.

Ed Miller, executive director of the American Lung Association’s Maine chapter, said it is clear Reynolds has violated the agreement. He said his organization asked for an investigation of the ad policies of the company a year ago.

“We have had several people complain and send examples of magazine advertising to us,” Miller said, “and not just a few examples. It is clear the industry, despite its public pronouncements, continues to target our youth in a blatant manner.”

For example, Miller said, a Time magazine issue distributed for use in schools last spring contained a 10-page, youth-oriented cigarette advertising insert.

Reynolds denies the company has violated the settlement agreement. In a statement, the company said the states are seeking to renegotiate the settlement agreement through the courts to gain stricter controls over advertising.

“We do not and will not advertise in magazines that specifically target minors,” said Charles A. Blixt, executive vice president and general counsel for Reynolds Tobacco. “We will only advertise in magazines that are predominantly read by adults.”

But anti-smoking advocates, such as Dr. Dora Mills, Maine Bureau of Health director, argue that Reynolds and other tobacco companies have increased their advertising budgets as part of an overall effort to get around the terms of the settlement.

“I have always been concerned there are loopholes in the settlement agreement,” she said. “I think it is clear they are doing all they can to get around the settlement provisions.”

Mills said a recent Federal Trade Commission report indicates overall tobacco company advertising is up to over $8 billion a year. Ad expenditures in Maine are estimated at $24 million a year. She said that included ads aimed at teens.

Reynolds officials said advertising has increased because of competition between brands.