LONDON (Brand Republic) - Philip Morris has been criticised for violating a US 1998 ban on tobacco advertising to children.
Education and health advocates across the US have protested over millions of book covers sent free to schools by the Marlboro cigarette maker. The brightly coloured covers show children on snowboards and skis and warn them: 鈥淒on鈥檛 wipe out. Think. Don鈥檛 smoke.鈥
Philip Morris sent around 26m of the fold-over covers to 43,000 schools last year. Critics have claimed the covers contain subliminal messages to smoke and have complained to state attorneys general.
Gerald Kilbert, director of California Education Department鈥檚 Healthy Kids Programme, accused the tobacco industry of using 鈥渙ld tricks鈥 to attract children. 鈥淭he snowboard looks like a lit match. The clouds look like smoke,鈥 he said.
But Philip Morris, which also manufactures the Virginia Slims brand, denies the claim saying the covers have no secret message. Company spokesman Brendan McCormick said it felt a duty to deter underage users. Philip Morris spends $100m each year on government-backed anti-smoking projects and anti-smoking advertising.
The National Association of Attorneys General has so far reserved judgement. 鈥淚t will take some fairly sophisticated analysis,鈥 according to Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who oversees the enforcement of the state-tobacco agreement.