[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H11908-H11909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TOBACCO MARKETING PRACTICES TOWARD CHILDREN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Waxman] is recognize for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend 
by remarks.
  We have all seen the full-page advertisements being published by the 
R.J. Reynolds tobacco company in major newspapers around the country. I 
have brought one with me. It says:

       Actions speak louder than words. . . . R.J. Reynolds 
     Tobacco Company does not, under any circumstances, want kids 
     to smoke. . . . R.J. Reynolds' policy, like that of all 
     American tobacco manufacturers, prohibits the distribution 
     [of cigarettes] to anyone underage.

  Those are RJR's words. Let us look at its actions.
  Last Friday, the TV news magazine, ``A Current Affair,'' showed the 
results of its investigation of RJR marketing practices at stock car 
races. This investigation showed that as recently as last month, RJR 
employees were giving free packs of cigarettes to 16- and 17-year-old 
girls.
  The ``Current Affair'' investigation also showed that RJR brings a 
kid's ride, called ``Camel's Smokin' Joe Ride,'' to each race. This 
ride, which simulates a stock car race, is very popular with young 
kids. During the ride, cigarette advertisements for Camel and Winston 
cigarettes flash across the screen and are viewed by the children.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe RJR's actions speak louder than words. At the 
very same time that RJR has been running advertisements that say 
children should not smoke, its own employees have been giving free 
cigarettes away to children, as well as showing cigarette 
advertisements to children.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit a transcript of the ``Current Affair'' 
investigation for the Record.

             [From ``A Current Affair,'' November 3, 1995]

                              Race Smokes

       Narration by reporter Mike Salort: You may have been these 
     national ads from R.J. 

[[Page H 11909]]
     Reynolds and probably heard their reassuring executives.
       Lynn Beasley, senior vice president in charge of marketing 
     Winston and Camel cigarette brands, R.J. Reynolds. I hope no 
     kid ever smokes, ever. I don't want kids to smoke.
       But at three of the company's famous Winston cup races in 
     their own backyard--North Carolina--we found thrills, spills, 
     and the company appearing to break its word.
       Christine Coltellaro, 16, Northern Virginia high school 
     student, accepting cigarettes from a cigarette marketer: Do I 
     keep these?
       Marketer. Yeah.
       Christine Coltellaro. Thanks.
       Our hidden cameras caught marketers hired by the company 
     handing out Winston and Camel cigarettes to underage 
     smokers--two girls 16 and 17 years old, who simply said they 
     were over 21.
       Undercover video shots of the two girls getting cigarettes.
       It's a major embarrassment for tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds, 
     maker of Camel and Winston brands.
       R.J. Reynolds on site marketing manager Jimmy Holder, as he 
     covers the camera lens. Can we just stop this and talk of 
     camera?
       ACA Reporter Salort. No, absolutely not.
       Why does he want our camera's off? This manager's company, 
     R.J. Reynolds, has been caught at the worst possible time. 
     President Clinton is trying to ban tobacco promotions from 
     sports events because he feels they convince kids to smoke. 
     The cigarette giveaway appears to be a graphic example of why 
     the President is worried.
       Christine Coltellaro. Compared to getting them at gas 
     stations or 7-Elevens, or quickie marts, it was pretty easy.
       Christine Coltellaro and Margie Bailey are underage 
     smokers. We hired them to see if they could obtain 
     promotional cigarettes at Winston Cup Races this fall.
       Christine Coltellaro. They said, ``Well, we need 
     identification.'' I said, Well I don't really have any on me. 
     They said ``Don't worry about it.''
       In fact, listen close, this man says he's kidding.
       Cigarette marketer, handing cigarettes to Christine: I need 
     to see a major credit card and a license.
       Christine. I don't have any major credit cards or license 
     on me.
       Marketer. I'm kidding.
       ACA Reporter Mike Salort confronts marketer who has given 
     cigarettes to the two girls. What are you told by the company 
     that hires you. What you need to do before you give out----
       Marketer. We're supposed to check ID.
       Salort. You are. Then you're supposed to have a picture ID 
     checked.
       Marketer. Yes sir.
       Salort. You do that in every case?
       Marketer. If they look under 30, yes sir.
       Salort, pointing at the two girls. Would you say these two 
     look under 30?
       Marketer. No sir.
       Salort. They don't look under 30?
       Marketer. I wouldn't say so.
       So he says these kids look like women in their thirties! We 
     asked the same question of the R.J. Reynolds boss for the 
     race.
       Salort, pointing at the girls. Would you say they look 
     under 30?
       Jimmy Holder, RJR manager. Yes sir, I would.
       Salort. So, what's your policy here?
       Holder. Our policy is, we've told 'em all, we stress for 
     everyone to card people who look under age.
       That's the official Reynolds policy anyway. Only who can 
     produce a pack of their own, 21 and older are supposed to get 
     the handouts. That's three years more than the legal age of 
     18, and it's true when we brought 13 year olds to the races, 
     they were turned down. But it was a rare occasion when 
     cigarette marketers refused our 16 year olds.
       ACA Reporter Mike Salort interviewing Rep. Henry Waxman, D-
     Calif. Salort, handing Rep. Waxman three plastic bags filled 
     with cigarettes. Ok, you've seen the tape, and this was their 
     haul from three separate races. What's your reaction to that 
     Congressman?
       Waxman. There's a lot of cigarettes in this haul. The R.J. 
     Reynolds company has run ads all over the country saying 
     actions speak louder than words, and I think their actions on 
     these tapes speak louder than words.
       As much as the cigarette giveaway makes him burn, 
     Congressman Henry Waxman of California suspects it's part of 
     a larger scheme to get kids to start smoking.
       Waxman. I just feel that the cigarette companies are 
     hypocrites.
       R.J. Reynolds Senior Vice President Lynn Beasley. I am 
     really deeply, deeply upset by it.
       She's Lynn Beasley, senior V.P. in charge of selling Camel 
     and Winston brands. But flawed as she says her giveaway 
     program was, Beasley denies it's part of a bigger scheme to 
     expose kids to cigarettes. She says the sample smokes, the 
     colorful booths, and the fancy merchandise are all for 
     adults, and what about this . . . It's Camel's Smokin' Joe 
     Ride, hauled to every Winston Cup stock car race. Inside that 
     ride, on a screen in front, kids will tell you--
       Young race fan, waiting in line for the camel ride: ``It's 
     a simulator. You start out on a rollercoaster and you go to, 
     like, different rides.''
       Like an exciting car race video, jam packed with cigarette 
     logos.
       Shot of Winston and Camel logos flashing across screen, 
     Audio from ride; ``thank you for your support of Winston 
     motor sports.''
       And when it's over, step outside and find yourself 
     conveniently close--to one of those cigarette booths.
       Lynn Beasley. We are not trying to appeal to kids.
       ACA Reporter Mike Salort. So who does this ride appeal to?
       Beasley. Adults. Ninety-seven percent of the people at 
     these events are adults.
       Salort standup. Even so there are still hundreds of kids at 
     these events being exposed to that colorful Camel campaign. 
     It's emblazoned on sweatshirts, banners, even pins. It's a 
     sponsorship the government wants to ban because it believes 
     the campaign pushes kids to smoke.
       While R.J. Reynolds says giving cigarettes to kids was 
     wrong, the company's Lynn Beasley makes no apologies for the 
     festive tobacco marketing at sports events.
       Beasley. Advertising does not cause kids to smoke, it 
     doesn't. Look at the facts. Every study that has been done, 
     study after study, shows the reason kids smoke is because of 
     peer pressure and family influence.
       Salort. Every study?
       Beasley. Yes!
       Incredibly Beasley says she hasn't even heard of a paper 
     unveiled for the press just weeks ago, and published in the 
     prestigious Journal of the National Cancer Institute. That 
     report says promotions like these may well affect kids. It 
     even says the number of kids smoking Camel's jumped after the 
     introduction of the Joe Camel ad campaign, which Beasley 
     worked on.
       Salort. Does it disturb you that there's a study out there 
     that says that what you're saying is absolutely wrong?
       Beasley. I will take a look at it. I'm telling you, what I 
     have seen is that the overwhelming evidence is that 
     advertising does not cause kids to smoke.
       And for that reason, Beasley says her company will still 
     sponsor sports events. But after seeing our footage, she 
     plans big changes for her cigarette giveaway.
       Beasley. I think where we went wrong was not in absolutely 
     requiring ID for everyone, regardless of what age they 
     looked.

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