Ohio Targets Tobacco Company Ads

Source from:  whiotv.com COLUMBUS, Ohio 12/05/2007

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann filed suit Tuesday against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for use of what Dann claims are cartoons used in cigarette advertising. Cartoons in tobacco ads were prohibited under a Master Settlement Agreement signed with the tobacco industry in 1998. Dann filed suit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court seeking more than $5,000,000 for violating the agreement. The ads appeared in the Nov. 15, 2007, edition of Rolling Stone magazine. Mike Deemer, chief deputy for Governmental Affairs, said the suit seeks both the penalty and an injunction to prevent the use of cartoons in future advertising. The cartoon ban originated after the company launched the "Joe Camel" campaign in the late 1990s. Critics claimed it was an appeal to children. The new ads do not feature Joe Camel, but do contain what Deemer described as cartoon-like drawings. In an interview with WHIOTV.COM, Deemer said the master settlement with the tobacco companies specifically states the tobacco companies cannot use cartoon depictions to market their products to youth. "The wheels of justice grind slowly, so this may take a lot of time, but we're optimistic in the end the court will see things the attorney general's way and send a message to RJR," Deemer said. There are 10 other states also asking filing claims in local courts. Deemer said additional states may join the effort. "The states are certainly stronger together than they are apart. The states taken as a collective can send a really strong signal," Deemer said. Enditem