Tobacco Industry Quotes

bethecatalyst.org/killerquotes

Hundreds of thousands of documents sounds a little overwhelming. Don’t worry, there are some help-
ful websites and overviews that will help you get started and will make your research a lot easier. To
start, here’s a list of some useful online document libraries:

American Legacy Document Library Tobacco Documents Online

The “Popular Documents” section is a good
place to look for documents on specific topics.
The library posts a handful of particularly strong
documents on issues like smoking in the movies,
targeting women, tobacco industry activity,
secondhand smoke, etc.
This way, you can look through various documents
related to your interests without having to do a
series of detailed searches.
www.legacy.library.ucsf.edu/
This is a great site with a killer search engine
that helps you find what you need.
Tobacco document researcher Anne Land-
man sends out a tobacco document email with
her latest juicy find. She does all the work of
scrounging, then you reap the benefit. You can
sign up for this list here.

“They got lips? We want them.”

Terence Sullivan, a sales representative for R.J. Reynolds, says: “We were targeting kids, and I said
at the time it was unethical and maybe illegal, but I was told it was just company policy.” Sullivan
remembers someone asking who exactly were the young people that R.J. Reynolds was targeting—
junior high school kids or even younger? The reply was “They got lips? We want them.”

“Cherry Skoal is for somebody who likes the taste of candy, if you know what I’m
saying.” – U.S. Tobacco

“we really need something for people to die of.”

British American Tobacco Tobacco November 20, 1978 Bates Number 109881385/1407

“The base of our business is the high school student”

This memo dated August 1978 was sent to Curtis H. Judge, President of the Lorillard Tobacco Com-
pany, from Lorillard area sales manager Ted L. Achey. In it, Achey discusses the market success of
Newports among African-American and “young adult” groups. Achey empha-
sizes that, “...the base of our business is the high school student.” Bates No.
03537131/7132

“We must get our share of the youth market”

In this R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company marketing reserach report, Claude Edward Teague, Jr. of
RJR’s research department muses about how to attract “pre-smokers” or “learners” to smoking in a
marketplace where the company cannot do so overtly: “It should be said that we are presently, and I
believe unfairly, constrained from directly promoting cigarettes to the youth market...Realistically, if our
Company is to survive and prosper, over the long term, we must get our share of the youth market. In
my opinion, this will require new brands tailored to the youth market...” Bates # TIOK0034691/4702

“If it was legal to sell to ‘em, we’d be glad to. But it’s not” - Walker Merryman

I wonder whether comic strip type copy might get a much higher readership
amongyounger people than any other type of copy. 1973 RJR

“SALEM has developed promotional outreach activities designed to establish

the Brand as a highly visible member of the Black community.”1983 RJR Marketing
Document Black Marketing Plan

“Very few consumers are aware of the effects of nicotine, i.e., its addictive nature
and that nicotine is a poison.” This 1978 internal Brown & Williamson shows that in 1978 the
company was aware not only that nicotine was both addictive and poisonous, but that cigarette con-
sumers were largely unaware of these characteristics. Bates 665043966

“Tomorrow there’ll be more CAMELS in this town than in all Asia and Africa com-
bined.”- CAMEL Cigarettes. This piece refers to the 1913 advertising campaign by N.W. Ayers
who was paid $250.000 to introduce the Camel brand on behalf of R.J. Reynolds. From the style, I
suspect a much later origin unrelated to RJR.

“Today’s teenager is tomorrow’s potential regular customer.” Philip Morris Memo,

1981

“It’s a well-known fact that teen-agers like sweet products. Honey might be con-
sidered” – Brown and Williamson, 1974 - Bates No. 170042014 - http://tobaccodocuments.org/
product_design/1023751.html?pattern=170042014#images

“We don’t smoke that shit, we just sell it. We reserve the right to smoke for the
young, the black, the poor, and the stupid.” – R.J. Reynolds 1992
“Young adult smokers are the only source of replacement smokers. If younger
adults turn away from smoking, the industry must decline...”- R.J. Reynolds 1978

Here is another document, apparently a quote as spoken by Goerlitz and written in the first person,
documenting the quote:
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xfu61d00 <http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xfu61d00&nbsp;>

“The Key subgroups in the younger adult market that RJR needs to address are
females and Blacks” - RJR, Consumer Research Report for Key trends among target age group
smokers (1984)

“Salem will become the national primary brand in the Hispanic market.…” - RJR
1984 http://tobaccodocuments.org/rjr/503510158-0169.html

“(Camel advertising will create) the perception that Camel smokers are non-
conformist, self-confident and project a cool attitude, which is admired by their
peers.” 1986 RJR Letter

“Brown + Williamson will not support a youth smoking program which discour-
ages young people from smoking.” - 1983 Tobacco Institute memo

“Students are tremendously loyal. If you catch them, they’ll stick with you like
glue.” - 1950 Philip Morris memo

“The media like the money they make from our advertisements and they are an
ally that we can and should exploit.” - The 1985 memo, written by former Philip Morris chief
executive Hamish Maxwell, planned to shape public opinion in the company’s favour by using its
“considerable clout with the media.”

“At least a part of the success of Marlboro Red during its most rapid growth
period was because it became the brand of choice among teenagers who then
stuck with it as they grew older.” Philip Morris Memo 1981 - Bates No. 1000390803. - http://
tobaccodocuments.org/landman/1000390803-0855.html?pattern=1000390803#images

“We will no longer be able to rely on a rapidly increasing pool of teenagers

from which to replace smokers through lost normal attrition. . . Because of our
high share of the market among the youngest smokers Philip Morris will suf-
fer more than the other companies from the decline in the number of teenage
smokers.” Philip Morris Memo 1981 - Bates No. 1000390803. - http://tobaccodocuments.org/
landman/1000390803-0855.html?pattern=1000390803
“The ability to attract new smokers and develop them into a young adult fran-
chise is key to brand development.” Philip Morris 1999 Bates No. 2044895379/484

“Thus, the vitality and development of the Marlboro Red franchise depends on a
growing share of young adult smokers.” Philip Morris 1992 Bates No. 2044895379/484
http://tobaccodocuments.org/pm/2044895379-5484.html

“If our Company is to survive and prosper, over the long term we must get our
share of the youth market.” RJR, 1973. Bates No 502987357 -7368.
http://tobaccodocuments.org/product_design/502987357-7368.html?pattern=502987357-7368-
#images

“Smoking may appear to enhance that self-image in a variety of ways. If one

values, for example, and adventurous, sophisticated, adult image, smoking may
enhance ones self-image...This self image enhancement effect has traditionally
been a strong promotional theme for cigarette brands and should continue to be
emphasized.” No 502987357 -7368. RJR, 1973

“As this 14-24 age group matures, they will account for a key share of the total
cigarette volume.” RJR, 1974 Bates No. 501421310 -1335.

“To ensure increased and longer-term growth for CAMEL FILTER, the brand must
increase its share penetration among the 14- 24 age group which have a new set
of more liberal values and which represent tomorrow’s cigarette business.” Bates
No. 505775557 -5557. RJR, 1976

“Evidence is now available to indicate that the 14-to-18- year-old group is an

increasing segment of the smoking population. RJR-T must soon establish a
successful new brand in this market if our position in the industry is to be main-
tained over the long term.” Bates No. 502819513 -9532. RJR, 1976

“Obviously maximum use should be made of magazines which are known to

have high teen readership.” Bates No. 500165434 -5439. Winston-Salem, 1973

“As this 14-24 age group matures, they will account for a key share of the total
cigarette volume -- for at least the next 25 years.” 1974 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (163
ch) Bates No. 501421310 -1335

“We wanted to get into that market, (youth market) and used the promotional
items, tee shirts, baseball caps, and one hot item were lighters, knowing full well
the people were giving these away to was kids half the time.”(Salesman for RJR) (239
ch) (Hilts.97) - http://www.costkids.org/targetingkids/behindcloseddoors.htm
“Growth is from 16-15 year olds. At the present rate, a smoker in the 16-25 year
age group will soon be three times as important to Kool as a prospect in any
other broad age category.” 1973 Brown and Williamson memo

“Young blacks have found their thing. It’s menthol in general and KOOL in par-
ticular.” 1974 Philip Morris marketing plan

“Studies of clinical data tend to confirm the relationship between heavy and pro-
longed tobacco smoking and incidence of cancer of the lung.” RJ Reynolds, 1953

“There are biologically active materials present in cigarette smoking. These are:
cancer causing, cancer promoting, poisonous, stimulating” A consulting firm, working
for the US Liggett Company reviewed the results of seven year’s research work. 1961

“Very few customers are aware of the effects of nicotine, i.e. its addictive nature
and that nicotine is a poison.” 1979 B&W document

“Nicotine is addictive. We are, then, in the business of selling nicotine, an addic-

tive drug.” B&W, 1963

“BAT should learn to look at itself as a drug company rather than as a tobacco
company.” (April 1980 memo by a team of BAT scientists)

“Do we really want to tout cigarette smoke as a drug” It is, or course.” (February
1969 memo from a Philip Morris researcher)

Tobacco Industry Quotes

http://www.bethecatalyst.org/killerquotes