Washington’s Division One Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a cartoon image included in the Nov. 2007 ad campaign by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in Rolling Stone magazine was in violation of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
In doing so, the court overturned a June 2008 verdict in favor of the company, which ruled that the content didn’t depict traditional cartoons and that the images were more thought-provoking than humorous. Tuesday’s decision awarded the State attorneys fees and costs and remanded the case for damages.
Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna called the ruling a reminder of how committed the states are to enforcing the public health provisions of the MSA and prohibiting the illegal marketing of tobacco products.
“This lawsuit demonstrates, even 10 years later, states have not forgotten legacy of the Master Settlement Agreement,” said the Republican AG, who recently served three years as co-chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Tobacco Committee.
“This is the kind of advertising that brought about the Master Settlement Agreement in the first place and this is one of the on-going legal commitments tobacco companies made to the states. We are holding them accountable.”
Eight states — Maine, Ohio, California, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Washington — sued R.J. Reynolds after the ad ran.
The Maine and Ohio judges sided with the company and California came back with a split decision. A Pennsylvania judge became the first to hold Reynolds liable, ordering the company to pay $302,000 or run a full-page anti-smoking ad in Rolling Stone. The other states’ lawsuits are still pending.
“This is a significant decision in that it’s the first appellate court interpretation of the use of cartoons in tobacco advertising,” said Senior Counsel Rene Tomisser, who argued the case and was recently promoted to section chief of the attorney general’s Complex Litigation Section.
As of now, R.J Reynolds has not said if they would plan an appeal.
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Tobacco is an annual or bi-annual growing 1-3 meters tall with large sticky leaves that contain nicotine. Native to the Americas, tobacco has a long history of use as a shamanic inebriant and stimulant. It is extremely popular and well-known for its addictive potential.
Nicotiana rustica leaves.
Nicotiana rustica leaves have a nicotine content as high as 9%, whereas Nicotiana tabacum (common tobacco) leaves contain about 1 to 3%
A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco which is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sumatra, Philippines, and the Eastern United States.
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it may be in the form of cigarettes smoking, snuffing, chewing, dipping tobacco, or snus.
