Ohio along with seven other states have filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds accusing the cigarette maker of taking unfair marketing means against national ban on cigarette promotion while using cartoons and brand merchandise for the purpose.
The cigarette company has used cartoon illustrations in Rolling Stone magazine’s pull out section. The nine page pull out in the magazine features a comic strip splashed with ads for Reynold’s Camel brand cigarettes.
Earlier in 1998, Reynolds and other big cigarette companies on behalf of the cigarette industry reached a settlement of paying $243 billion to the 43 states for health care costs that incurring from cigarette smoking.
Under Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), the tobacco companies agreed to pay the amount annually to the states. They have also allegedly agreed to the marketing, advertising and sales restrictions made to underline the addictive nature of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Image: [The Camel cigarette-sponsored portion of an illustrated advertising section in the Nov. 15 issue of Rolling Stone magazine. Prosecutors in several states yesterday said the section violates the tobacco industry’s nine-year-old promise not to use cartoons to sell cigarettes] (Associated Press)
