Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 22, 1995 TAG: 9508220099
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From The Associated Press and The Washington Post
DATELINE: RICHMOND, VA. LENGTH: Medium
ABC's ``Day One'' newsmagazine reported in February and March 1994 that tobacco companies including Philip Morris Cos. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. added nicotine to cigarettes to addict smokers.
``ABC News agrees that we should not have reported that Philip Morris and Reynolds add significant amounts of nicotine from outside sources,'' Diane Sawyer, one of the anchors of ``Day One,'' said midway into Monday night's broadcast of ``World News Tonight.''
``That was a mistake that was not deliberate on the part of ABC but for which we accept responsibility and which requires correction,'' she said, quoting most of a statement issued by ABC. ``We apologize to our audience, Philip Morris and Reynolds.''
An announcer read the statement in its entirety about three hours later, during halftime of ABC's broadcast of a National Football League preseason game between the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys.
The settlement also specified that the statement be read again Thursday during the ``Day One'' program.Sawyer's reporting on the settlement on Monday's news broadcast was not part of the settlement, said ABC spokeswoman Patricia Matson.
R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris denied adding nicotine for any reason during manufacturing, and said their finished cigarettes have less nicotine than in the raw tobacco from which they are made.
The statement said the two sides still disagree about whether the focus of the reports was on the use of nicotine from outside sources. The companies said they believe that was the main thrust, but ABC said the focus was on whether cigarette companies use reconstituted tobacco to control the levels of nicotine to keep smokers hooked.
The companies denied that allegation, while ``ABC thinks the reports speak for themselves on this issue and is prepared to have the issue resolved elsewhere,'' the statement said.
Both tobacco companies said ABC would pay attorney fees, costs and out-of-pocket litigation expenses incurred in the lawsuits. ABC spokeswoman Patricia Matson declined to release the total.
``We are extremely pleased that the case has been resolved and that the `spiking' charge is now behind us,'' said Charles R. Wall, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Philip Morris.
Philip Morris sued in Richmond, where it has a cigarette factory, in March 1994 seeking $10 billion in damages; R.J. Reynolds sought unspecified damages of more than $10,000.
New York-based Philip Morris' cigarette brands include Marlboro, Benson & Hedges, and Virginia Slims. R.J. Reynolds, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., makes Winston, Salem and Camel cigarettes.
The Food and Drug Administration began an investigation of tobacco companies three days before the ABC program aired last year. Much of its early focus followed angles ABC reported.
``Members of the anti-smoking industry immediately jumped on the spiking charge as a rallying cry in their crusade against tobacco,'' Wall said. ``Now it will be interesting to see if they too offer an apology or whether they continue to pretend the issue never existed.''
The FDA concluded last week that nicotine was an addictive drug and that tobacco companies had manipulated the chemical in cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.
The tobacco companies, led by Philip Morris, immediately filed a federal lawsuit challenging the FDA findings as wrong.
The FDA said Monday's settlement would not affect the latest lawsuit or its pursuit of tobacco industry regulation.
``The FDA investigation revealed tobacco manufacturers actively control the amount and rate at which nicotine in marketed cigarettes and smokeless tobacco is delivered to consumers,'' said spokesman Jim O'Hara.
Virtually all cigarettes are made with some reconstituted tobacco, a filler that includes stems and crushed leaves. Nicotine is removed, then added later, but the final product has a lower nicotine content than the raw materials, the tobacco companies say.
Some ABC News staffers have been upset about the planned settlement, arguing that the broadcast was essentially correct and that parent company Capital Cities Communications Inc. should not cave in to Philip Morris. But top ABC executives were worried that embarrassing disclosures could emerge in a trial on Philip Morris' home turf of Richmond. They first offered a proposed apology in June, weeks before the discussions that led to the network's being acquired by Walt Disney Co.
Clifford Douglas, an anti-tobacco activist, said, ``ABC should be ashamed for itself'' for agreeing to the settlement. ``ABC's corporate brass, by losing its nerve, has failed its news staff and its audience.''
by CNB