Tobacco Documents Online

DRAFT #2 AJS/pm 5/17/79 , The Honorable Joseph A. Califano, Jr. T,ie Secretary of Health, Education and Weltare Washington, D. C. 20201 Dcar Mr. Secretary: I refer to your letter of April 26, 1979. For many years Lor i 1 l ard has avo icjcd d i rect ing the of its advertising to young persons. T4,-tt undertaking began in the mid-1960's with the voluntary adoption by the major l'.S. cigarettr, manufacturers of the Ciqarette Advertising Code :ind was the result of the Inc3ustry's oNn initiative -- without the involvement of Government. 1,orillard continues such avoidance today. Almost ten years ago, on,7uly 22, 1969, the then-Chairman of the executive committee of the Tobacco Institute, speaking for t.orillard and the other major U.S. ciqarette manufacturers, advised the Consumer Suhcnmr;i ttoe of tllr Srnate Commerce Committee as followc: . "With rospect to ndvertising in [no-broac3castl mcdia, it is tho intenti_on of the cicl,nrct to m,inufact-iircr:. t_(-) continue ,. O to avoid advertising c3i'rected to yc?ung ~ 096 persons ; to ahstain from .idvcrt.i.sing in O C school and college publications; not to

r 2 c distribute sample cigarettes or engage in promotional efforts on school and college campuses; [and] not to use testimonials from athletes or other celebrities who might have special appeal to young people..." Since the mid-1960's when depicting models in adver- tising, it has been Lorillard's practice to use only models who are 25 years or older. It. dw-k rL /V , 1("j Everyone J agrees that children should not smoke, i-- = I However, to our knowledge, nobody knows why children begin to smoke, including experts in the field. One portion of the recently-released HEW Report of the Surgeon General on Smoking and Health, at page 16-12, indicates that: "The following variables influence the decision to smoke: peer pressure, best friends who are smokers, parents who smoke, adolescent rebellion, imitation of adult behavior and misconceptions concerning the risks of smoking." The Report identifies "social pressure and imitation of peers or family members who smoke" as being among the major variables contributing to initiation of. smoking.

44 3 .1 . Mass media advertising makes an easy and tempting target, but its influence is uncertain. Again, according to the 1979 Surgeon General's Report (pages 17-5, 17-6): "Smokers depicted in films and television as well as cigarette advertising which tends to portray smokers in interesting .and exciting environments suggest that attractive, desirable people tend to smoke. This would logically be expected to influence children and teenagers much as the media and advertising affect the behavior of adults. Yet, the relationship between exposure to the mass media and the initiation of smoking is difficult to isolate from the other concurrent influences to which the child is exposed. In fact, variety of psychosocial influences may interact to influence some children to begin smoking." Lorillard is strongly of the view that cigarette adver- tising is a competitive instrumentality of the free market system. We utilize it in a manner intended to persuade

41 r 4 adult smokers to switch from one brand to another. We neither direct the appeal of our advertising to children, nor do we encourage them to start to smoke. In sum, Mr. Secretary, we do not advertise to children and do not intend to do so in the future. Respectfully, Curtis H. Judge