Complain about a product or service

Lung Association Attacks Alcohol-Flavored Cigarettes

May 30, 2006

• Turning The Tables On Big Tobacco • Senate Approves Bill For FDA Tobacco Regulation • Florida Smoker's Widow Awarded $30 Million • Court Finds Tobacco Companies Lied About Smoking Dangers • California Reinstates Tobacco Fraud Class Action • House Votes to Give FDA Regulatory Power Over Tobacco • Massachusetts Okays Cigarette Class Action Against Philip Morris • House Bill Would Give FDA Tobacco-Regulating Power • Tobacco And Alcohol Worse in Combination • Menthol Cigarettes May Be More Addictive • Supreme Court Clears Suits Over Light Cigarettes • Adult Smoking Rates Show Slight Drop • Racial Disparities Increasing For Cancers Unrelated to Smoking • Not Enough Doctors Trained to Help Smokers Quit • Secondhand Smoke May Hurt Children More Than Adults • Bank Stopped From Enabling Online Tobacco Sales • Study Finds Big Tobacco Exploiting Ad Ban Loophole • Do Tobacco Firms Cut Menthol to Hook Young Smokers? • Wegmans, DeCicco Markets Ditch Cigarettes • Secondhand Smoke Linked To Hospital Admissions • Anti-Smoking Drug Chantix Linked to Seizures, Heart Problems, Diabetes • Congress Moves To Tighten Tobacco Controls • Toddlers Affected Most By Secondhand Smoke at Home • Tobacco 'Innovations' Aimed at Younger Smokers • Heart Attacks Drop After Smoking Ban in Italy • Physician Highlights Hazards of Bartending • Anti-Smoking Suit Targets Restaurants • Smoking Linked to Sleep Disturbances • States Challenge R.J. Reynolds Cigarette Ads • Smokers Cost Taxpayers $10 Billion • Secondhand Smoke a Serious Health Risk • Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? • Kroger Agrees to Curb Tobacco Sales to Minors • No More Free Smokes in California • Second-Hand Smoke Tied to Lower Test Scores • Secondhand Smoke Bad for Pets • Researchers Link Smoking To Dementia • Smoking Turns On Genes -- Permanently • Bill Targets Online Cigarette Sellers • UK Tries Nicotine Patches on Pregnant Smokers • More Toxins Found in Smokers' Children --- • More about Smoking & Health

The American Lung Association has issued a report blasting tobacco companies, charging alcohol-flavored cigarettes are targeting youth and young adults.

The report calls the new product the industry's latest "underhanded marketing tactics."

"May 31 is World No Tobacco Day, a day focusing on the impact of tobacco use on public health. Unfortunately, tobacco products remain virtually unregulated in the United States," said John L. Kirkwood, President and CEO of the American Lung Association.

"Each day more than 4,000 kids under 18 try their first cigarette, and more than 1,500 other kids under 18 become established daily smokers," Kirkwood said.

The report says R.J. Reynolds, in particular, has been aggressively targeting the youth and young adult market with several recent marketing campaigns that seek to link smoking with alcohol use, gambling and rebellious behavior.

The report details how R.J. Reynolds recently sold alcohol- flavored cigarettes as limited edition brands of an ongoing line of flavored cigarettes called Camel Exotic Blends.

Included were packs of cigarettes with names such as Screwdriver Slots, SnakeEyes Scotch and Blackjack Gin.

The report says these new flavored cigarettes were sold as part of a larger promotional campaign called Camel Casino, which sought to link smoking with alcohol use and gambling. The promotional campaign ran from July 2005 through early 2006.

Although R.J. Reynolds claimed these new cigarettes were marketed towards young adults, their appeal to youth who are beginning to experiment with alcohol is obvious, the association said.

"It's appalling that the tobacco industry is allowed to continue marketing and selling flavored cigarettes," said Kirkwood. "The industry's goal is obvious: To get young people hooked on smoking. Flavored cigarettes, like regular cigarettes, cause lung cancer and lung disease and should be banned for the sake of our children."

Other Underhanded Schemes

The 'Alcohol-Flavored Cigarettes -- Continuing the Flavored Cigarette Trend' report also divulges information about other marketing tactics allegedly used by R.J. Reynolds in cultivating young smokers.

A campaign called Drinks on Us was exposed in December 2005 by several state Attorneys General.

Customers celebrating their birthdays were mailed a promotional package that contained coasters imprinted with drink recipes some of which called for up to five shots of alcohol per drink. The campaign appeared to be designed to promote both smoking and excessive drinking, according to the report.

Another separate campaign that began in spring 2006 for R.J. Reynolds' Camel Wides, a version of its Camel line of cigarettes, associates smoking with rebellious behavior using bar parties that feature graffiti artists, "rave" style paraphernalia, such as glow-in-the-dark necklaces, and offers to party-goers to get real tattoos at a discount.

"These recent marketing tactics continue to show the tobacco industry has not changed, and is continuing its attempts to hook a new generation on tobacco products," said Kirkwood.

A bill giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products failed to pass in Congress in 2004.

Identical FDA legislation was reintroduced in March 2005, and is still pending. The proposed FDA legislation would regulate the sale, marketing and manufacturing of all tobacco products. It would also prohibit all flavorings in cigarettes except menthol.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.