THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 22, 1995 TAG: 9508220289
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
ABC News settled libel lawsuits totaling more than $10 billion Monday by apologizing to Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds for reporting that the companies manipulated the amount of nicotine in their cigarettes.
ABC's ``Day One'' news magazine reported in February and March 1994 that tobacco companies, including Philip Morris Cos. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., ``spiked'' cigarettes with additional nicotine 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.''
The statement was to be read in its entirety during the telecast of a National Football League preseason game Monday night, and again during prime-time hours Thursday - the night on which ``Day One'' airs.
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 two sides still disagree, the statement said, 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. 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 is 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. by CNB