The tobacco industry was dealt a big blow yesterday in a 1,742 page document by a federal court judge who said tobacco companies have engaged in racketeering and has banned the sale of light and ultralight cigarettes as reported in Advertising Age. Among the edicts in the judgement”
-the use of the terms “low tar,” “light,” “ultra light,” “mild” and “natural” are banned;
-for two years, big tobacco is required to buy full-page corrective advertising monthly in the Sunday editions of more than two dozen major newspapers with the schedule alternated so the ads appear at least weekly;
-major tobacco makers are ordered to run 15-second corrective TV spots once a week during prime time for a year;
-packaging and in-store signs must carry new corrective advertising.
If we ran a tobacco company today, we’d be pretty close to saying, “Fuck it. This sucks. Let’s go sell paper clips. That sounds like less of a hassle.”
