WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ads touting the true tobacco taste of Winston's "no additives" cigarettes soon will include a warning they are no safer than other cigarettes.
In an agreement announced Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said it would include the disclosure to settles charges that its ads are misleading. The FTC, which regulates advertising, contends RJR's current ads imply Winston cigarettes are safer to smoke because they contain no additives."Frankly, there's no such thing as a safe smoke," said Jodie Bernstein, the FTC's director of consumer protection.
Under the settlement, RJR would agree to include a disclosure in its ads that states: "No additives in our tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette."
The disclosure must appear in a rectangular box 40 percent the size of the surgeon general's cigarette health warning and in a clear and prominent place. Reynolds also would instruct its sales representatives to place a disclosure on any ads in stores.
The commission voted 4-0 to accept the proposed agreement, which is subject to a 60-day comment period before the FTC decides whether to make it final.
Commissioner Orson Swindle said he was convinced that "many consumers interpret ads containing express 'no additive' claims to mean that Winston's are not as harmful as other cigarettes."
Swindle also noted the "unusually extensive" nationwide campaign begun by Winston in August 1997 to promote the "no additives" cigarettes.
R.J. Reynolds disputed the notion that consumers equate "no additives" with safer cigarettes. The company said it never has made a direct or implied claim in its marketing materials that the products are less hazardous.
"We disagree with the FTC's premise, and our own research demonstrated that smokers do not interpret the phrases to mean that Winston is safe or safer than other cigarettes," the company said.
Spokeswoman Carole Crosslin stressed that RJR publicly has said it does not believe the risks associated with smoking are reduced with "no additives" cigarettes. The disclosure reflects the company's position on the issue, she said.
Under the proposed settlement, Reynolds must include the disclosure in all advertising for Winston no-additive cigarettes, regardless of whether the advertising contains a "no additive" claim, for one year beginning no later than July 15. After that, Reynolds must include the disclosure in all products that it represents as having no additives.
Public health groups had asked the FTC to investigate R.J. Reynolds' ad campaign in 1997, after the company reformulated its Winston brand to remove all additives.
The groups said the settlement was an important first step in cracking down on deceptive cigarette ads.
RJR "has had a long history of engaging in this sort of behavior," said John Garrison, who heads the American Lung Association.
The disclosure is not required if Reynolds has scientific evidence showing that "no additive" cigarettes pose lower health risks than other cigarettes.