
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 14, 1994                   TAG: 9410140085
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Medium

ANTI-SMOKING ADS PULLED BY STATIONS

Threatened with a libel suit by the chairman of R.J. Reynolds, three California TV stations have pulled an anti-smoking ad containing news footage of the nation's tobacco chiefs swearing before Congress that they believe nicotine is not addictive.

A lawyer for James Johnston, the R.J. Reynolds chairman, said the ad makes it sound as if Johnston was lying to Congress. The lawyer demanded in a letter to California TV stations and to the state Health Services Department that the ad be pulled immediately.

The ad features footage of Johnston saying, ``Cigarettes and nicotine clearly do not meet the classic definitions of addiction.'' Three other tobacco executives are also shown saying they don't believe nicotine is addictive.

An announcer follows, saying, ``Now the tobacco industry is trying to tell us that secondhand smoke isn't dangerous.'' Viewers are then asked: ``Do they think we're stupid?''

Ken August, a spokesman for the California Health Services Department, said he knew of three stations that had stopped running the ad, including KABC, the ABC-owned station in Los Angeles.

Patricia Matson, a spokeswoman for Capital Cities-ABC in New York, said that KABC asked the Health Services Department to change the ad, and might run the ad again if it's revised.

Kimberly Belshe, director of the department, which produced the ad, said, ``We stand by our ads, and we deny any allegation of defamation. ... [the intent of the ad] is not to libel an individual, but to speak to the credibility of the industry.''

She said she has received no complaints from the other tobacco executives in the ad.

R.J. Reynolds officials did not return repeated calls. Nor did attorneys from the San Francisco law firm that sent the letter on Johnston's behalf.

The ad is one of eight that began running this month as part of California's anti-smoking media campaign, paid for with cigarette taxes.

This is the first time the tobacco industry has tried to force one of the California anti-smoking ads off the air, Belshe said.

``You can judge the effectiveness of the commercial by the response it provokes,'' said Stanton Glantz, a professor in the cardiology department at the University of California at San Francisco. ``This is clearly the most effective ad the department has come up with so far.''

by CNB