The death and disease caused by cigarettes is nothing to celebrate.  But that’s not stopping R.J. Reynolds from celebrating the 100th birthday of its Camel cigarettes this year. Their Camel web site touts “A Century of Camel” and urges visitors to “Celebrate the original that sparked a tradition.”

Indonesia has been called the tobacco industry’s playground due to the country’s large number of smokers and unrestricted tobacco marketing.

In the latest example, Indonesian tobacco giant PT Djarum has placed billboards promoting its L.A. Lights cigarettes with the shameful slogan “DON’T QUIT.”  If discouraging smokers from quitting isn’t bad enough, the ad appears to mock efforts to reduce smoking by instead encouraging smokers to “DO IT” and using the slogan “Let’s Do It!”

WASHINGTON, DC – A Vermont Superior Court judge this week ordered the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to pay $8.3 million for deceptive marketing of its Eclipse cigarettes that violated both Vermont’s consumer protection laws and the 1998 state tobacco settlement, which prohibited tobacco companies from misrepresenting the health consequences of using a tobacco product. 

Tobacco control advocates around the world today are marking World No Tobacco Day, organized by the World Health Organization to focus attention on the devastating global toll of tobacco use and the need for nations to take strong action to save lives.

WASHINGTON, DC – Five leading public health organizations are calling on state attorneys general to investigate whether R.J. Reynolds’ new magazine advertising campaign for Camel cigarettes violates the state tobacco settlement’s prohibition on targeting youth.