Scarcnet News Summaries (Advocacy Institute)
Columnist Comments On Tobacco Industry Smuggling Activity
Length: pages
Abstract
DALLAS MORNING NEWS columnist Henry Tatum wrote an op-ed commenting on the news that RJ Reynolds' subsidiary Northern Brands International pled guilty to federal charges stemming from its participation in a cigarette smuggling operation: "[T]he guilty plea should raise red flags in the United States, where the public has watched in wonder while the stakes in the tobacco industry settlement kept getting larger and larger. . . . Federal and state officials should view the federal case against Northern Brands as a valid reason to hold the tobacco industry's feet to the fire on other agreements in the landmark settlement. . . . The illegal transportation of cigarettes into other countries isn't exactly a hot button issue for the average US family. But the illegal sale of tobacco to minors certainly is. If a tobacco company has been found to be complicit in helping smugglers get around high tariffs aimed at curbing juvenile smoking, what else is the industry willing to do to maintain profits? More important than the money in the tobacco settlement is the industry's agreement to reduce teen smoking in America. Companies have pledged to end ads aimed at attracting youthful consumers.And they will help fund programs designed to educate kids about the dangers of tobacco.The promises sound good. But so did the tobacco industry's claims that it wasn't directly involved in cigarette smuggling -- until last month."
Source: Henry Tatum, "Have Tobacco Firms Been Blowing Smoke?" DALLAS MORNING NEWS (on-line), January 6, 1999.