US: Government Accuses RJ Reynolds

The US Government has accused the tobacco manufacturer RJ Reynolds (part of RJR Nabisco Holdings Corporation) of using its advertising brand character Joe Camel to illegally promote “addictive and dangerous” cigarettes to children and adolescents.

The Federal Trade Commission voted on 28 May to bring RJ Reynolds before an administrative law judge, in order to prevent the company allegedly from targeting persons under 18. The FTC would also require the company to run a public education campaign aimed at discouraging young people from smoking. RJ Reynolds will contest the action and has called the accusations “unprecedented, unfounded and unwarranted”. The FTC is designed to be an independent agency but its members are appointed by the President for seven-year terms. By deciding to take this step against RJ Reynolds’ Joe Camel character, the FTC has reversed its 1994 decision on the same subject, and thus risks accusations that it has succumbed to White House pressure and compromised its independent status.