Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 3, 1995 TAG: 9511030086
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
The company learned from a televised news report that two minors working for the show had obtained cigarettes at races in North Wilkesboro, Charlotte and Rockingham.
``We don't want underage people to smoke, and we realize that the system we had in place was not always properly executed,'' Lynn Beasley, vice president of marketing, said Thursday.
R.J. Reynolds offers smokers at racetracks packs of its brands of cigarettes in exchange for partial packs of competitors' cigarettes.
The company said it will require identification from everyone participating in its program in the future.
Also Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that an R.J. Reynolds internal marketing plan was aimed at getting young adults, particularly those 18 to 20, to switch to Camels.
The confidential Camel business plan for 1990, obtained by the Journal, runs counter to the company's statements that year that Camel is targeted mainly at consumers aged 21 to 30.
The disclosure comes as some marketing experts say Reynolds is again using the Joe Camel cartoon character as the centerpiece of its advertising. Critics have charged that the cartoon encourages young people to smoke.
The 1990 plan explains the brand's focus on the 18-to-24 group, describing market growth among young adult smokers as ``crucial.'' The document further cited an emphasis on ``males, 18 to 20,'' the Journal reported.
The company did not dispute the report's authenticity, the Journal said, but stressed that the smokers in question were of legal smoking age.
by CNB