Revelation

TOBACCO CONTROL UPDATE February 1998

DOCUMENTS REVEAL TOBACCO COMPANY TARGETS YOUTH

In January, U.S. Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) released documents to the public indicating that the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company had targeted 14 to 24 year-olds as potential buyers. The once secret memos refer to their youngest target group as "replacement smokers" and said that a goal should be to "youthen the brand" to increase sales ( Barry Meier, "Files of Reynolds Tobacco Show Effort on the Young," New York Times, January 15, 1998, p. A12; John Mintz and Saundra Torry, "Internal R.J. Reynolds Documents Detail Marketing Aimed at Children," Washington Post, January 15, 1998, p. A1; Henry Weinstein, "R.J. Reynolds Targeted Kids, Records Show, Los Angeles Times (Washington Edition), January 15, 1998, p. A1).

U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman - 2204 RHOB, Washington, D.C. 20515, Tel: (213) 651-1040 or (202) 225-3976.