[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H11834]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          WEEKLY READER STUDY

  (Mr. MEEHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, last week a study from the University of 
California concluded that the ``Weekly Reader,''--a staple of American 
classrooms--had been used as an instrument of propaganda by the tobacco 
industry.
  For 5 years, between 1989 and 1994, the largest shareholder of RJR 
Nabisco owned the Weekly Reader. Look at the poster. RJR Nabisco, the 
epitome of corporate responsibility, uses Joe Camel as its spokesman.
  During the period when RJR owned the Weekly Reader, 68 percent of the 
articles on tobacco reflected the industry's viewpoints. One of the 
articles went so far as to actually debate whether or not Joe Camel 
encourages kids to smoke.
  Mr. Speaker, the Weekly Reader study further explains why Joe Camel 
is more recognizable to 5-year-olds than Ronald McDonald and why the 
smoking rate among eight-graders has jumped up in the last 5 years.
  Tobacco giants, like RJR Reynolds and Philip Morris, have been--and 
continue to--target our kids. They plaster their misleading messages on 
every billboard, magazine, and convenience store in sight. And the 
penetration of the youth market to pre-adolescents, now extends to the 
classroom. What is next, the Marlboro Man math book?

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