Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 10, 1992 TAG: 9203100055
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Led by Surgeon General Antonia Novello, they declared Monday that the dashing dromedary appeals too much to children in his ads for Camel cigarettes.
"It's time for the tobacco industry to stop preying on our nation's youth," Novello said. "It's time that cigarette companies act voluntarily and responsibly.
"In years past, R.J. Reynolds would have us walk a mile for a Camel," she said. "Today it's time that we invite `Old Joe' himself to take a hike." The American Medical Association agreed. The tobacco company didn't.
Joe's ugly as a camel, but he's adventuresome, chic and multitalented. He plays piano, races cars and wears dinner jackets and tuxedos, often catching the eye of a beautiful woman.
But Old Joe has been in trouble with the health community almost since RJR Nabisco Inc. introduced him as the "smooth character" in its ads for Camel cigarettes in 1988.
Last December, the Journal of the American Medical Association published studies that found the camel's image was as familiar to 6-year-olds as Mickey Mouse.
During Old Joe's tenure in the pages of America's magazines and newspapers, Camel has become the brand of choice for 32.8 percent of the smokers under age 18. That's up from just 0.5 percent three years earlier, according to the journal. In money, its a boost from $6 million a year to $476 million a year.
But the tobacco industry says there's no proof the ads influence young people to reach for a Camel.
"We reject the notion that advertising leads to initiation of smoking," R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., a division of RJR Nabisco, said in a statement responding to the call for yanking the ads. "Numerous studies around the world have shown that peer pressure and parental influence are the leading factors in underage use of tobacco products."
by CNB