Camel Crush Cigarette Ads: Are They Targeting Kids? American Heart Association Says They Are Aimed At Teenagers

The new widespread Camel Crush campaign has caused health groups to pressure state attorneys to investigate if it violates the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.

The American Heart Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Legacy, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the American Lung Association have signed a letter to Tobacco Committee Co-Chairs of the National Association of Attorneys General stating that each of them believe R.J. Reynolds to be guilty of advertising tobacco to minors.

The Camel Crush ad in question has appeared in at least 24 magazines since April, the Inquisitr reported. Magazines that feature the ad include ESPN the Magazine, Rolling Stone, People, Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly, which boast large teen readership demographics.

"We believe that R.J. Reynolds' new ad campaign does directly or indirectly target youth because the entire ad buy is reaching millions of youth and several of the individual magazines have large youth readerships," the letter to the Attorney General read.

Under the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement that has been in effect since 1998, tobacco companies are prohibited from directly or indirectly marketing its products to underaged children.

Health groups wrote of the harms of advertising cigarettes to youth analyzing the spike in smoking habits among those who consumed such ads. Camel in particular came under fire for its use of the character Joe Camel, a cartoon smoking camel who is said to have been an attempt to appeal to a young audience.

"From 1987 to 1997, R.J. Reynolds marketed Camel cigarettes with a cartoon character, Joe Camel, including through magazine ads. Studies showed that Camel's share of the youth cigarette market soared after the campaign began, and Joe Camel at one point was nearly as recognizable to 6-year-olds as Mickey Mouse. R.J. Reynolds finally ended the Joe Camel campaign in 1997 in the face of lawsuits, Congressional scrutiny, a Federal Trade Commission investigation and public outrage," health groups wrote.