RJ Reynolds new ad campaign that claims Winston cigarettes have zero per cent additives and are made from only tobacco and pure filtered water are coming under fire from three big public-health organisations, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The paper said in its electronic edition the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association sent a formal request to the Federal Trade Commission charging that the Winston ads essentially constitute a health claim.
The group says in the petition that Reynolds should be required to prove that its newly reformulated Winstons are both additive-free and safer than regular cigarettes, according to the paper. RJ Reynolds is embroiled in a battle with the FTC over its Joe Camel ad campaign, the paper said.
Meanwhile, the big tobacco companies are selling billions of dollars worth of cigarettes each year to dealers who funnel them into black markets in many countries, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing both law enforcement officials and participants in the trade, Reuter reports.
The paper said one fourth of cigarettes sold overseas pass through smuggling rings set up to evade foreign taxes and sell major brands at a discount.
While the companies said they do nothing to encourage smuggling and do not condone it, recent criminal investigations in several countries have indicated tobacco industry executives have played large roles stimulating smuggling, the paper said.
Court documents, for example, showed that RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co sponsored trips to a Canadian fishing resort for several dealers who have since been charged with conspiring to smuggle cigarettes into Canada, the paper said.
Also, a big European smuggler said he has been buying Winstons from Reynolds for 15 years, according to the paper. The smuggling costs governments an estimated $16 billion a year in lost revenues, according to the New York Times.
