Subject:
             Remember the Wawa Billboards? They're BAAACK! [part III]
        Date:
             Wed, 24 Nov 1999 06:28:58 -0800
       From:
             "Robert B. Sklaroff, MD" <rsklaroff@home.com>
 Organization:
             @Home Network
         To:
             Multiple recipients of list INTL-TOBACCO <intl-tobacco@essential.org>,
             Settlement Talk Discussion List <settlement-talk@smokescreen.org>
  References:
             1 , 2
 
 
 

First, know that the Supreme Court Brief distributed yesterday was
filed, emphasizing the fact that the Wawa Billboard Issue represents "a
legally enforceable interest based upon a case or controversy ripe for
adjudication at this time," as manifest in ongoing litigation.

Second, know that this Wawa Billboard Issue has "media legs," as evinced
by the article and editorial that are reprinted below.

*

http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Nov/24/pa_north/NTOBA24.htm

Antitobacco activists ask FTC to rein in Wawa

The chain's most recent billboards push cigarettes -- in violation, they
say, of the national settlement.

By Glen Justice
INQUIRER HARRISBURG BUREAU

HARRISBURG -- An antismoking group has filed a complaint with the
Federal Trade Commission claiming that Wawa Inc.'s new cigarette
billboards violate the law because they do not contain the surgeon
general's warning.

Those same billboards came under fire this week from antismoking groups,
who said the advertisements were in violation of the nationwide
settlement's prohibition against tobacco billboard ads.

The controversial billboards contain a Wawa logo, a warning that the
stores do not sell tobacco to minors, and the slogan "Lowest pack prices
allowed by law. # 1 brand even lower!"

The Philadelphia-based Tobacco-free Education and Action Coalition for
Health filed a complaint with the FTC yesterday, alleging that the
billboards violate the laws requiring the surgeon general's warning and
charging that Philip Morris had allowed the ads to be placed without it.

Jeff Barg, chairman of the coalition, said the goal was to have the
billboards taken down.

"That's a very serious violation," Barg said. "It makes it all the more
clear that Wawa is thumbing its nose at everybody. They're being too
cute three times over. I think they're open to serious liability."

Wawa officials said they stopped using the surgeon general's warning
when they stopped using direct references to brands in their ads.

"If there's an issue with the FTC, we will address it," said Lori Bruce,
a Wawa spokeswoman. "We will comply with all rules."

Philip Morris officials, meanwhile, maintained their claim that they
have nothing to do with the billboards.

"Philip Morris is committed to the letter and spirit of the [settlement]
and all applicable laws in the United States and Pennsylvania," said
Mike Pfeil, a Philip Morris spokesman.

FTC officials could not be reached for comment.

The billboards do not depict cigarettes. Nor do they contain direct
references to brand names. And they do not contain the surgeon general's
health warning, which is emblazoned on cigarette packs and other ads.

Activists, however, say everyone knows that Marlboro, made by Philip
Morris, is the leading brand referred to in the ad campaign. The
billboards, they say, violate language in the $206 billion settlement
that prevents tobacco companies from authorizing other companies to
advertise their brands.

The activists want state Attorney General Mike Fisher, who is in charge
of enforcing the settlement, to sanction Philip Morris. Fisher's office
has said it is looking into the matter.

Wawa officials counter that there is no tobacco-company logo or symbol
on the billboards, that retailers were not part of the settlement, that
their competitors have erected similar ads, and that the billboards do
not violate any law.

The billboard incident is the second attempt by Wawa to advertise
cigarettes this year. In May, the company erected a series of billboards
that directly referred to Marlboros. It voluntarily discontinued the ads
amid protests by activists.

*

http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Nov/24/opinion/EDWAWA24.htm

Get the message

No cigarette advertising on billboards.

No wonder major tobacco companies agreed earlier this year to stop
advertising cigarettes on billboards.

They have allies who will do it for them.

Stores like Delaware County-based Wawa Inc. and other cigarette
retailers think it's still perfectly proper to hawk tobacco products
along the nation's highways - no matter what tobacco makers agreed to in
their 46-state legal settlement to dodge health-related lawsuits.

Wawa for the second time this year has erected billboards that market
low-cost cigarettes.

In May, it was a straightforward Marlboro promotion - depicting the
brand on 100 Wawa billboards across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware,
Maryland and Virginia.

The ads provoked a well-deserved outcry, coming only a month after
tobacco billboards nationwide were removed and replaced by antismoking
messages.

Wawa pulled the Marlboro ads voluntarily, winning kudos for its
civic-mindedness. But that was then.

The convenience-store chain, in what it defends as a response to
competitors doing the same thing, has returned to area roadways with
another bid for cigarette sales. Wawa contends that the $206 billion
tobacco settlement does not apply to retailers, yet its latest billboard
message is coy.

It omits "cigarette" or any brand name. "Lowest pack prices allowed by
law. #1 brand even lower!" say the signs, with a footnote that Wawa
doesn't sell "tobacco products" to minors.

You think that any Wawa customer doesn't know what's being sold here?

And don't imagine that the low-price message is lost on underage
smokers, for whom cost is a prime consideration when getting a start on
the deadly habit. For cheap smokes, they know all they have to do is try
to scam the counter clerk at Wawa.

Since the Wawa billboards clearly are advertising cigarettes, shouldn't
they include the federally mandated Surgeon General's health warning?
Local antismoking activists have asked the Federal Trade Commission to
find out.

It's up to state Attorney General Mike Fisher - who applauded Wawa for
its civic responsibility in the spring - to fight this erosion of the
tobacco deal. After he looks into the ad campaign, he needs to head to
court to win a clear determination barring third-party tobacco billboard
ads.

Billboards differ from other forms of advertising that accept tobacco
promotions in that consumers have to look at their in-your-face
messages. With newspapers or magazines, consumers have more choice over
what ads they view.

Let the public-health objective be to keep cigarette billboards under
wraps.