2010年12月2日 星期四

Attorneys General Ask R.J. Reynolds to Cease Camel Promotion, Calling it a Violation of Master Settlement Agreement: A Story of Sour Grapes

first PregnancyIn a letter dispatched terminal week to the R.J. painter Tobacco Company, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) has asked the company to quit its past Camel business campaign, which uses the themes and cultures of prominent U.S. cities to market the brand (the content is called the Break Free Adventure campaign).The foundation for this letter is NAAG's declaration that the crusade violates the Master Settlement Agreement's (MSA) edict of the targeting of youngness in fag advertising. NAAG argues that the crusade appeals to youngness because of its themes of rebelliousness, sensation-seeking, and risk-taking, and therefore, it represents targeting of youngness that is illegal by the MSA.According to the letter: "We are afraid that this business crusade is using aspects of favourite culture, including independent music, art, motor sports, and “hip” or countercultural attitudes, to advertise Camel cigarettes in a artefact that is appealing to teen people’s psychological needs for rebelliousness, sensation-seeking, and risk-taking. ... It is essential for painter to actualise ... that though the content haw be of interest to grown smokers, it haw also hit material attractiveness to youngness and haw encourage the institution of baccy ingest in minors. ... We think it is critical that painter address the difficulty created by these business promotions that sound with youngness and that threaten lives by increasing the risk that children module start smoking."According to an Associated Press article, R.J. painter "does not believe that the direct-marketing content violates its obligation low the 1998 baccy settlement."The Rest of the StoryUnfortunately, R.J. painter is every correct. This content does not break the company's obligation low the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement.Why? Because the Attorneys General who negotiated that commendation were motivated by semipolitical and scheme acquire kinda than a veritable anxiety for the public's health, and as a result, they united to a care that brought lots of money into the states, but did null to actually turn youngness smoking.For example, the Attorneys General definite to earmark just the category of business crusade that R.J. painter is today running. The MSA exclusive prohibits the "targeting" of youngness in fag advertising. It does not veto business that reaches youth, nor does it veto business that appeals to youth. The exclusive edict is against business that reaches youngness and/or appeals to youngness in equal or greater ratio than adults.I actually testified as an expert witness against R.J. painter in the Calif. causa to which NAAG refers in its letter. In that lawsuit, a Calif. Superior Court (and the proceedings court) institute that painter violated the MSA's edict of youngness targeting in its magazine advertising. The key to the case was evidence that Reynolds' advertisements reached youngness to an even greater degree than they reached adults.The MSA says null to inform that the intention of the commendation was to eliminate the fag companies from using themes or images which strength attractiveness to youths. They exclusive can't direct youngness (i.e., ingest themes or images which attractiveness more to youths than adults).If NAAG's interpretation of the Master Settlement Agreement were correct, then virtually every fag business - including every of Marlboro's and Newport's business - would be illegal by the MSA. Show me a Marlboro ad that does not attractiveness "to teen people’s psychological needs for rebelliousness, sensation-seeking, and risk-taking." By the aforementioned reasoning the Attorneys General are using to obligation that R.J. painter quit its Camel promotion, they would also hit to obligation that Philip moneyman quit every of its Marlboro advertising. It doesn't verify a rocket business chief to amount discover that the Marlboro Man and Marlboro Country are fashioned specifically to attractiveness to "young people's psychological needs for rebelliousness, sensation-seeking, and risk-taking."In fact, virtually every fag business is supported on an attractiveness to set values of rebelliousness, sensation-seeking, and risk-taking. Why are the Attorney Generals being so selective in exclusive rigorous that R.J. painter quit its business of Camel cigarettes via this digit promotion? How crapper NAAG mayhap reassert allowing the postscript of Marlboro marketing low the rattling cost it alleges eliminate painter from business Camel in the artefact it is doing.Clearly, it was not the intention of the signatories to the MSA to veto every fag advertising. It was obviously not their aim to eliminate fag companies from using themes - like intractableness and risk-taking - that attractiveness to youths. Had that been the intent, then the MSA's restrictions on business would hit looked rattling different. The MSA would hit exclusive banned the ingest of any images or themes that attractiveness to youth, or which could be construed to be probable to attractiveness to youngness and thence increase youngness smoking.The aim of the Attorneys General was not to turn youngness smoking. Rather, the aim was two-fold:(1) To attain it countenance like they were doing something about youngness respiration so that they would countenance good politically in their states and could ingest the MSA as a crusade tool to further their semipolitical careers; and(2) To alter in huge amounts of money to their states.That the Attorneys General are today querulous about business tactics that they specifically and intentionally allowed the fag companies to ingest in the MSA makes this news null more than digit of acerbic grapes.The rest of the news is that the Attorneys General imitative a really crummy deal. For their possess semipolitical gain, they sacrificed the protection of the public's upbeat and institutionalized, kinda than prevented, the ingest of youth-appealing imagery and themes to market cigarettes.The Attorneys General thence hit no digit to blame but themselves. R.J. painter is exclusive mass the cost of the contract. They are but doing what they are explicitly permissible to do low the commendation which the Attorney Generals themselves signed.Not exclusive is NAAG misinterpreting (or perhaps misrepresenting) the cost of the Master Settlement Agreement, but the Attorney Generals hit today become the victims of their possess individual avaritia and the sacrifice of the public's upbeat to that greed.More than anything else, this is a news about semipolitical avaritia and money, and about the violation of the responsibility to equal the public's best interests as Attorney Generals of a state.And above all, it is a news of acerbic grapes.Pregnancy info
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