Tobacco Documents Online

A 12 year old boy sent this sad letter to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company after his house burned down on Christmas Day. RJR filed the letter in its "No Response" file.

This is a handwritten letter to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company from an aging two and a half pack-per-day smoker who has emphysma, isn't eligible for Medicare of Medicaid and can't quit smoking. He fears for his life, and pleads with R.J.R. to proivde him with financial assistance to help him quit smoking. He says in exchange for the assistance he would be willing to sign a document relieving RJR of any liability.

Tobacco companies keep huge databases of the names and addresses of smokers in order to send out discount offers, coupons, etc. They also use these databases to bring smokers' attention to proposals to raise cigarette taxes and mobilize them to oppose the taxes. The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company used its database to do exactly that in April of 1986 when it mass-mailed a discounted carton offer along with a letter asking a Mr. Maker of North Branch, Minnesota to write his state senator and oppose a cigarette tax.

The problem was Mr. Baker was dead, having died as a result of his cigarette use. Upon receiving RJR's "carton offer," grieving widow Betty M. Maker, wrote this powerful letter to Mr. Gerald H. Long, then President and CEO of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

This 1996 letter addressed to Andrew Schindler (CEO of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company) from an RJR cigarette consumer disabled by acute asthma, chronic bronchitis and sinusitis shows another side to the correspondence received by tobacco companies from smokers who realize what they have sacrificed to these companies' benefit.

Searching the tobacco industry's documents using the keyword "deceased" turns up a significant amount of gut-wrenching correspondence from desperately sad and angry people whose relatives who have died from tobacco-induced illness. Most of this correspondence seems to be prompted by discount cigarette offers that tobacco companies continue mail to smokers after they have died.

Today's document is an example of this. A cigarette widow's sad notes are hand-written over a Doral free carton offer mailed to her deceased husband ...

This "birthday card" was apparently sent to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company by a group of school students. The front of the card has the words "Happy Birthday!! scrawled around a picture of a birthday cake with ten cigarette "candles." The inside of the card says, "Happy Birthday!!! You've killed more people than alcohol, automobiles, gangs, and Adolph Hitler combined!!!"

The card is signed by approximately 35-40 young people, who also included messages like, "You killed my Grandpa," "Smoking stinks," "I hate drugs" and "I have asthma! Stop the smoke! Please!"

This letter from T.K. Cahill of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company public relations department was apparently written in response to a 5th grade elementary school class in Santa Monica, California, who wrote RJR protest a Winston cigarette advertisement that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Cahill assures the children that cigarette advertising is not directed at youth, but also brazenly tells them that "medical science has not found any conclusive evidence that an element in tobacco or tobacco smoke causes any human disease." (The first major Surgeon General's report linking cigarette smoking with disease was issued in 1964, eight years before this letter was written).

Then, in a classic example of the industry's application of its Council for Tobacco Research for public relations, Cahill tells the children that,

"... in a sincere attempt to determine what harmful effects, if any, smoking might have on human health, established The Council for Tobacco Research..."

and

"...The answers to the many unanswered smoking and health questions--and the true causes of human diseases--can, we believe, be determined by scientific research. Our Company intends, therefore, to continue to support such research until the truth is known."

An alarmed cigarette consumer wrote this letter to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1996 to tell them she found find live bugs crawling around out of her cigarette filters. The smoker writes,

"I am very concerned and devistated over the fact that I smoked these bugs. I am also afraid and sickened that these bugs are crawling out of the filters and I may have ingested them."

The customer says she fumigated her home after finding bugs crawling out of her cigarette pack, and communicates her displeasure with the cavalier manner in which the company apparently handled her complaint.. She further expresses her displeasure that R.J. Reynolds could be so unconcerned about her health:

"I am very concerned if there are any dangers from smoking or injesting these bugs... I am very upset on how this issue was handled through your so called supervisors. They showed no concern when I explained that these bugs could be in my house and in my body. You would think that they would put a rush on this situation but I was told it would take 2 weeks to receive the mailer [to return the cigarettes to the factory] and 5 weeks to examine the cigarettes. There were no concerns that this could be a health risk to me and my family."

This is one of a large number of consumer letters that appear in the tobacco industry's documents complaining that bugs and bug larvae were found in cigarettes and expressing concern about the the ingestion of same by smokers. The fact that such contamination occurs in a semi-legal product that millions of people take into their bodies millions of times per day in the U.S. is of public health interest. It also highlights a consequence of the fact that cigarettes remain unregulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If consumers regularly reported bugs crawling out of packages of other widely-used legal (or semi-legal) drugs (for example aspirin, cold medicines or even alcoholic beverages) how long might the public and legislators tolerate it?

This heart-wrenching letter was written by a cigarette consumer to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco company in 1988. It was written by a wheelchair-bound, 63 year old man who was paralyzed on his left side due to a stroke, and then had his legs amputated, part by part, over a three-year period, as a result of ciculatory problems which his doctors assured him were due to smoking. The man had a wife and eight children.

He wrote RJR to try and get some compensation for his disability.

A woman writes to RJR protesting smoke-free activities in Colorado, claims she smoked through two pregnancies and her children are fine, and she suffers from no problems due to smoking.

In this handwritten letter to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, a smoker writes to inquire why he found "a parade of bugs" exiting his newly-purchased pack of Doral brand full-flavored cigarettes. The author writes,

"...as the pack lay on my table, I suddenly noticed a parade of bugs exiting the pack. They resembled an ant with pincer claws...What was up with that?

This letter was written to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco company by a smoker who suddenly starting experiencing extreme ("migraine") headaches while smoking Camel cigarettes. He wrote to RJR, "...I was prompted to dissect several of the Camel cigarettes, upon which time I discovered a white fungus, no unlike a cocoon in appearance. Needless to say, I was shocked and threw the cartoon (sic) in the trash." The consumer also told RJR that this situation had made him concerned about "the relative safety of your product."

this handwritten letter to "Doral and Co. Marketing Department" (R.J. Reynolds), a disabled smoker suffering from emphysema and heart disease pleads with the company to make their cigarettes shorter, put more in a pack and sell them for the same price, saying this would be "a great service" for those who can no longer smoke a whole cigarette. The writer also claims shorter cigarettes would make it easier to get "a quick fix," be "healthier for those who are ill," and could serve as a quitting aid. The beleaguered smoker writes, "I have heart disease and emphysema. I am on a fixed income of social security disability, I should quit smoking, but as many others we are addicted. I find many cigarettes just burn away. There are many times when I take only a puff or two at a time, and to relight a cigarette is very foul tasting, so it is thrown away... [Making shorter cigarettes] would be a great service to those on a fixed income, and I am sure there are many. But also this would give 'the quick fix' that so many of us need. Also this would be healthier for those who are ill by not filling our lungs completely with smoke and chemicals."

In this letter, a woman writes to James Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, to say she received a holiday card and gift certificate coupons addressed to her 44 year old husband who is now dying of lung cancer. She says she has two young children to care for, thousands of dollars in medical costs incurred due to her husband's illness, and that her husband is now total care rendering her unable to work to support the family. She asks Mr. Johnston how he can "in good conscience, support a company that provides such a deadly product," and asked if he had the courage to respond to her.

A search of RJR's documents failed to reveal any written response from Mr. Johnson to the woman who wrote this letter.

Consumer letter responding to a "Season's Greetings" mailer from RJR, and repeating a request to remove a Mr. John Schertz from R.J.R.'s mailing list. Mrs. Shertz writes to say Mr. Shertz is dying from cancer attributed to smoking CAMELs. States she is suffering from lung problems due to exposure to secondhand smoke. Says she is "definitely not enjoying a Happy Holiday Season, thanks to your products."

The R.J. Reynolds tobacco company sent out a promotional mailer that urged smokers to collect a set of "authentic" cigarette lighters produced by the company, write about their favorite hunting, fishing and garden spots and send in photos. A Doral smoker, terminally ill but nevertheless completely enamored with Doral Lights, wrote to the company:

"To Whom it may Concern,

As a special favor to me. I am dying of a terminal illness. If you could be so kind, I would appreciate a set of the special lighters to have to look at. I would worship them. I collect anything from Doral. I've collected alot of your memorabilia. So I would find it a great gift and a great honor to receive these lighters. I think of them as a beautiful piece of work and art, If you could find it in your hearts and souls to please let me have a set of these wonderful lighters. I would also worship the people that were so kind as to give these lighters to me. I would also appreciate a letter from the Chairman to tell me to feel better and to appreciate the lighters.

Thank you, Gregory Scott Shofler

[Text on Promotional mailer]:

"We'd love to hear from you! Send us your favorite hunting and fishing spots. Tell us where they are, why they're your favorite and include any storied that happened along the way. Notice the second picture to the right. If you can top their catch, we want to see it!"

[Consumer responds, writing:]

During the summer I like to go hunting for herbs, berries and other nature's remedies that can be used for medicinal purposes. Of course, I always carry my Doral Lights bag along with my cigarettes to I can have a smoke while enjoying my pastime...

[Text of mailer asks, "How do you get your garden ready for spring? Whether it's planning your garden before you plant it, or finding a rare flower to grow, send us a picture and tell use about the garden that makes you proud..."]

[Consumer writes...]

To get my garden ready I till my garden and add old compost to richen the soil. If makes the soil richer just like the flavor of your Doral Lights. My garden always does so much getter when working the ground up good and keeping the weeds down. I didn't have any photos to send, sorry.

This correspondence reminds us that the tobacco companies, in addition to having longstanding critics among public health advocates, enjoy a product with a powerful draw and a large cadre of very involved devotees who are deeply dedicated to the companies' products, promotions and paraphernalia, and who remain completely indifferent about the health effects of tobacco, as this letter demonstrates, even while dying themselves.

The brief, poignant title of this 1999 consumer letter written to R.J. Reynolds tells the entire story of this smoker's plight. This document was found in the "Marketing/Consumer Relations" files of RJR.

This chipper handwritten holiday note, complete with little hearts sprinkled throughout, was sent to R.J. Reynolds by a Doral Lights smoker who sustained hundreds of dollars worth of damage due to burns caused by her cigarettes over a period of just three days. She apparently called the company about the problem, and they requested that she go to the trouble of sending photos of the damage. The writer enclosed photos of burns on a new leather kitchen stool, a kitchen rug and a new reversible bed comforter.

A search on the consumer's name did not reveal any response from RJR.

A woman writes to the chairman of RJR's board to complain about a "Special Gift for the Holiday Season" sent to her mother, whose husband died of tobacco-related disease one year before. The writer states her mother, who never smoked cigarettes, was recently diagnosed with emphysema and her radiologist "describes her test results equivalent to that of a heavy 30 year smoker." The writer copied the letter to the U.S. Surgeon General and the editor of U.S.A. Today.

Grief-stricken letter to the "Winston team" decrying a holiday card sent to a man who died of lung cancer from smoking. The card thanked the dead man for his loyalty throughout the year. The widow wrote to RJR to protest the card.

In this entertaining letter, a smoker who works with a band named "Bonfire" writes to her cigarette company say she was dissatisfied because she partially smoked a burnt rubber band found in her cigarette. The letter was mailed to "Forsythe Tobacco Products" in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was found in the files of the R.J. Reynolds tobacco company. It is unclear if the two companies are one in the same. The brand in question is called "Jack's," an obscure discount brand. A search of the letter author's name found no response to this customer.

This situation raises the question of whether a cigarette consumer has any expectation of purity in the product, whose manufacture is not regulated by any government agency. There seems to be no recourse for consumers if the product is contaminated.

It is also interesting to investigate the world of discount cigarettes, which are sold through outlets that have names like "Barbi's Butts," "Cheap Smokes," "PayLess Cigarettes, "DirtCheapCigs.com" and (my favorite) "Kill Buck Trading Post." There is also world of little-known lesser discount brands with names like "Sincerely Yours," "Skydancer," "Marathon," "Smokin' Joe" and "Main Street." Discount cigarette brand names also seem to heavily invoke a Native American theme, as many brands have names like "Cherokee," "Native," "Wild Horse," "The Brave" and "Seneca."

Letter to RJR from a woman pleading for the only Christmas present her partially blind, 16 year old son wants: a Joe Camel lighted pool table sign. Her son was blinded in one eye by a rubber band.

A loyal smoker of MORE cigarettes writes to R.J. Reynolds to share her creative, environmentally sensitive use for the scads of empty cigarette packs she generates: "More Cigs:

Thought maybe you would like to see this wreath I made for last Christmas. It's made out of your MORE cig packs. I empty so many of them -- I thought there ought to be something I could do to recycle them and one day I thought of this. Enjoyed my wreath and wanted to share it with you.

Hazel Quarles

P.S. - They also make great bows for packages."

Consumer letters like this show the special relationship that many smokers develop with their cigarette manufacturers, and their brand. R.J. Reynolds curries those relationships by sending smokers holiday cards, coupons, lighters and free packs of cigarettes. In the past, RJR mailed out special packs of Camels with the phrase "Season's Greetings" printed on them. These packs became treasured items for many smokers. See this letter from a smoker who proudly displayed her husband's CAMEL "Season's Greetings" pack on top of the family TV set, where the couple's 2 year old daughter got ahold of it and destroyed it. The woman wrote RJR to ask for another pack: http://tobaccodocuments.org/rjr/517546428-6429.pdf.

Greeting card sent to "R.J. Reynolds Lung Destroyer Company" from someone suffering from emphysema and lung cancer. States, "I wish you and all personnel of all tobacco companies to have their Christmas goodies laced with strychnine and their guts ripped by buckshot, and a totally disastrous new year. May this Christmas be your last." The card is signed, "A suffering dying WINSTON emphysema victim."