Attorneys general seek end to Camel promotional campaign
The National Association of Attorneys General is asking cigarette maker RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. to stop a promotional campaign for Camel cigarettes that the group says appeals to young people.
In a letter to the nation's second-largest cigarette maker, the group said Reynolds' "Break Free Adventure" campaign has substantial youth appeal and may encourage underage tobacco use.
"We are concerned that this advertising campaign is using aspects of popular culture, including independent music, art, motor sports, and 'hip' or countercultural attitudes, to advertise Camel cigarettes in a way that is appealing to young people's psychological needs for rebelliousness, sensation-seeking, and risk-taking," the group said in a Nov. 23 letter. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning and Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, co-chairmen of the group's tobacco committee, wrote the letter.
The campaign highlights 10 destinations, including Las Vegas, San Francisco and New Orleans, on special cigarette packs being distributed in December and January that feature colorful images of the cities and well-known landmarks. It also includes Austin, Texas; Seattle; Bonneville Flats, Utah; Sturgis, S.D.; Route 66; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Brooklyn, N.Y.'s Williamsburg neighborhood.
