Tobacco Documents Online

R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Company Winston-Salem, N. C. 27102 °J n° n April 7, 1972 Mr. Kenneth Bersinger 5th Grade, Room 404 Will Rogers Elementary School 2401 Fourteenth Street Santa Monica, California 90405 Dear Mr. Bersinger: The letters you and other members of your class wrote to various officials of our Company regarding a WINSTON ad you saw in the Los Angeles Times have come to this department for reply. We appreciate the opportunity your letters give us to furnish you our viewpoint. The primary objective of the entire R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company advertising effort is to reach adult smokers. None of our cigarette advertising, either in its content or in the media used, is directed to youth. Provisions of the Cigarette Advertising Code, to which our company adheres, prohibit advertising that would have a high appeal to the youth of the nation. The tobacco industry is most concerned about the charges being made that smoking is responsible for so many serious diseases. Long before the present criticism began, the tobacco industry, in a sincere attempt to determine what harmful effects, if any, smoking might have on human health, established The Council for Tobacco Research. The industry also supports research grants directed by the American Medical Associa- tion. Despite all the research going on, medical science has not found any conclusive evidence that an element in tobacco or tobacco smoke causes any human disease. 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. I trust that these comments and the enclosed materials will help you to understand our position on this matter. Si ~g erely n ~ /~ T. K. Cahill Public Relations Department TKC/pm Enclosures