Tobacco

"Two of the nation's largest cigarette manufacturers have sued the state of California to stop state-sponsored ads that exceed the authority granted to the state by voters and are intended to vilify the tobacco industry. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Lorillard Tobacco Company filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, seeking an injunction halting some of California's Prop 99 advertising. ... As noted in the proposition itself, Prop 99 tax proceeds are to be used primarily for tobacco-related health education programs and medical care for indigent citizens.

"The Justice Department is demanding
that the nation's biggest cigarette makers be ordered to
forfeit $289 billion in profits derived from a half-century
of fraudulent and dangerous marketing practices. Citing new evidence, the Justice Department asserts ... the major
cigarette companies are running what amounts to a criminal
enterprise by manipulating nicotine levels, lying to their
customers about the dangers of tobacco and directing their

Not everyone enjoyed "British-American Tobacco's Socially Responsible Smoke Screen," our article from the last issue of PR Watch that examined BAT's social reporting process. Eugenio Rengifo, a baritone with a Chilean band, emailed us a stinging letter, calling the article a "joke. Do you really believe in what you wrote about this?" But Eugenio the baritone didn't bother to inform us that he was also a PR executive with BAT's Chilean subsidiary.

In each war and military action since losing in Vietnam, the US military has exerted increased control and censorship over battlefield reporting. Now the Pentagon claims to be changing its ways, in part to gain a propaganda advantage. According to the New York Times, "military officials said in interviews
that limits on access to frontline units ... would be loosened if President Bush ordered
military action. The Pentagon has made similar pledges of greater access
before without making good on the promise. Even now, as the