Attorneys General Ask R.J. Reynolds to Halt Promotion
[Editor’s Note: Further updates on this breaking story will appear in tomorrow’s PROMO Xtra.]
The attorneys general from three states yesterday sent a second letter to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. calling for a halt to a cigarette promotion they say encourages binge drinking by young adults.
The attorneys general from New York, California and Maryland said that the tobacco company mails a birthday greeting to young adults that includes the branding of Camel cigarettes and consumption of well-known alcohol brands including Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Kahlua, Bacardi Limón and Bailey’s.
Spitzer, along with Maryland AG J. Joseph Curran, Jr. and California AG Bill Lockyer, wrote to R. J. Reynolds in November demanding that the program be discontinued “because of the grave public health concerns raised by this promotion of excessive drinking, particularly among young adults.” The three also wrote to the makers of the alcohol brands promoted in the campaign, who said there were not aware of the promotion, Spitzer said. The distillers said that the promotion violates the alcohol industry’s advertising code, which prohibits marketing practices that encourage excessive drinking or promote the intoxicating effects of alcohol consumption. Spitzer said the distillers have all written to R.J. Reynolds demanding that it “cease and desist” or face legal action. Spitzer said R.J. Reynolds has refused those requests.
In response, the three AGs sent another letter yesterday, “expressing their outrage and disappointment with R.J. Reynold’s refusal to discontinue this irresponsible promotion.”
Officials at R.J. Reynolds could not immediately be reached for comment.
The birthday greeting, which is mailing widely, reads: “Camel—’s your Birthday. Drinks on Us.” Six different drink coasters are included in the envelope, each with a recipe for mixed drinks with high alcohol content and tag lines that promote excessive and irresponsible drinking, NY AG Eliot Spitzer said in a statement.
R.J. Reynolds told the AGs that the direct mail packages are sent to people over 21 on their birthdays.
Spitzer said that some of the tag lines read: “Layer it on. Go ‘Til Daybreak,” “Mix Three Shots Together Over Ice, then Make Sure You’re Sittin'” and “Pour Over Ice, Then Let it Burn.”
“This promotion is a complete abomination,” Spitzer said in a statement. “Virtually every parent in America knows what it is like to anxiously wait for a child to come home from a night out with friends, worrying that someone will be drinking and driving. Now R.J. Reynolds— not satisfied just selling its own deadly products— encouraging individuals to ‘celebrate’ their birthdays by abusing alcohol. It is just shameful.”
