ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 17, 1996 TAG: 9608190059
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
NOTE: Above
The American Cancer Society is selling its name to two corporate giants, offering exclusive endorsements to NicoDerm anti-smoking patches and Florida orange juice for at least $4 million.
Ethics watchdogs protested the deals announced Friday, saying the society may seriously hurt its credibility.
``If they want to endorse products, they should do it in the spirit of an educational agency, not as a paid shill,'' said Paul Root Wolpe of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
The deals - part of a rising trend of partnerships between nonprofit groups and companies - will provide the society with cash for its cancer-fighting programs and add to a $427 million annual budget at a time when donations are stagnant.
They also give the marketers credibility through their association with one of the nation's most respected health groups.
But if the trend accelerates, Wolpe predicted medical organizations will some day be endorsing everything from tires and chewing gum to sneakers.
Two years ago the Arthritis Foundation signed a $1 million deal with the makers of Tylenol to sell painkillers with the foundation's name on the boxes.
Corporate executives call it cause-related marketing, something that got their attention in the 1980s when surveys showed most people would switch brands - and even pay more - if the companies making those products advocated causes with which they agree.
American Express Corp., Stroh Brewing Co. and others racked up sales by donating a portion to the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, said Daniel Borochoff, president of the watchdog American Institute of Philanthropy in St. Louis.
Friday's deal was announced in conjunction with the national introduction of NicoDerm, the second over-the-counter nicotine patch.
SmithKline Beecham PLC, the big British-based drug manufacturer, will pay the cancer society at least $1 million a year in royalties for three years. In exchange, the society's logo will appear on NicoDerm boxes and advertising.
In a similar deal, the Florida citrus marketers association agreed to pay the society at least $1 million for one year.
``We determined that companies that are producing products that support the missions or programs of the American Cancer Society would be acceptable business partners for us,'' said society spokeswoman Elizabeth Bridgers.
Nicotine patches, worn on the arm, gradually ooze nicotine into the smoker's body, helping stave off the craving for cigarettes. Sales were mediocre as prescription-only products, but the patches are expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in over-the counter sales, with many of America's 46 million smokers trying to quit.
Competition is expected to be stiff, and the airwaves, magazines and newspapers soon will be filled with multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns.
As for orange juice, while there is no proof it prevents cancer, Bridgers said drinking it can be part of a healthy diet and ``eating healthy is one of the major preventive measures against cancer.''
Some groups long have endorsed products without making exclusive deals - the American Dental Association puts its seal on toothpaste with fluoride; the American Heart Association endorses low-fat, low-cholesterol foods.
Ethicists say the American Cancer Society takes a big risk with its exclusive deal with SmithKline because other nicotine patches may come along that work better.
``They're saying, `OK, we're no longer a place to go for counsel and advice on nicotine patches because we've been bought by this company on this one issue,''' Borochoff said.
Bridgers said SmithKline will exert no control over the society's smoking education programs, and that other than putting its name on the boxes, the society will not be talking about specific products.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB