Subject:
             Remember the Wawa Billboards? They're BAAACK! [part V]
        Date:
             Thu, 02 Dec 1999 04:37:37 -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 , 3 , 4
 
 

...and the Walls are gonna go tumblin' down (again)!

The following does NOT represent "closure" on this issue for, as I said
to the Inky reporter, the REAL culprit (Philip Morris) HAS STILL NOT
AGREED TO A STIPULATED JUDGMENT REGARDING *ITS* ROLE IN WHAT
TRANSPIRED.  [It should also be fined.]  Much public and private
pressure was brought to bear on the AG, and daily "press" generated
potential for this story both to have "legs" and to demonstrate the
capacity to "sprint" onto the national scene.

In many respects, it's a shame we must exert such overt political/legal
pressure on the AG before he acts to protect the public health by
opposing such an OBVIOUSLY flagrant, arrogant act!

Ultimately, as physicians, we are trained to treat the CAUSE of
problems, and Philip Morris has conveniently been "unavailable for
comment" while PA has [again] LED THE NATION in pushing for MSA
enforcement.

Some may view the billboard issue as tangential, but it goes to the
heart of credibility.  My quotation ["They can pull them today and put
them up again six months from now," he said. "They are like a
misbehaving child. They test the limits."] demonstrates why - absent a
COURT ORDER - this remains an ACTIVE, NATIONAL issue, corroborating my
"legally enforceable interest" and justifying my gaining standing BOTH
to ENFORCE the MSA's provisions AND to AMEND-AWAY the MSA's protections
of Big Tobacco.

In my view, the AG was under time-pressure to undercut my ability to
argue against his motion (to the Supreme Court) that the Wawa issue was
"moot."  [Philip Morris filed a comparable argument in the Philly Court
of Common Pleas; great minds think alike.]  The key concern, now, is
whether the national behavior of the "third party" retailer/distributor
will be reigned-in, as well.  Clearly, my "case or controversy" IS NOT
MOOT, for the tobacco industry can still play games [choose one:  "cat
and mouse" or "chicken"] unless SOMEONE holds IT responsible for what
has transpired.  [Wawa is merely a "front."]  Because the underlying
"etiology" of this matter hasn't been "treated," the "controversy"
persists.

Below, first, is citation to further (pictoral) evidence; thereafter is
the AG's statement.  Thereafter are the Inky articles, which may be
found at the following sites:

http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Dec/02/city/WAWA02.htm

http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Dec/02/city/TOBA02.htm

Note the uncanny resemblance between the AG's actions and those
encompassed in my litigation.

Clearly, the AG's conduct mirrors - and validates - my prior efforts.

[Also, know that his FTC filing was congruous with that of The Tobacco
Free Education and Action Coalition for Health; Jeffrey Barg, TEACH
Chair, filed last week, too.]

*

Write to the following address for a picture of a Kentucky billboard:
Tobaccokills2000@aol.com

*

Subject: AG Fisher's release on Wawa
Date:    Wed, 1 Dec 1999 22:25:44 -0500 (EST)
From:    phyweb@physiciansnews.com
To:      rsklaroff@home.com

Wednesday December 1, 5:57 pm Eastern Time

SOURCE: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General

Pennsylvania Attorney General Fisher Says Wawa Agrees To Drop Cigarette
Billboards

HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Attorney
General's Office issued the following:

Under pressure from Attorney General Mike Fisher and state Health
Secretary Robert Zimmerman,
Wawa Food Markets has agreed to take down billboards advertising cheap
cigarettes at its convenience stores in Pennsylvania.

``I informed Wawa and Philip Morris that I was prepared to take
enforcement action over these
billboards,'' Fisher said. ``In response, the company decided to remove
the ads, and I urge all responsible retailers to avoid using billboards
to sell tobacco products.''

Under the national tobacco settlement, tobacco companies agreed to stop
using billboards to sell their products. The companies also agreed to
stop targeting children with their promotions. Tobacco companies are
also required to use ``commercially reasonable steps'' to stop stores
from advertising their products.

On Nov. 23, Fisher sent a letter to Wawa officials accusing the company
of reneging on a May 11 decision to discontinue the use of billboards to
advertise tobacco products. Fisher informed the company that it could
face enforcement action unless it removed its billboards.

Fisher also informed Philip Morris' attorneys that Wawa's billboards
advertised low prices for the ``#1 brand,'' a reference to the company's
Marlboro cigarettes. Fisher said the billboards also referred to a
``manufacturer's sponsored promotion.'' If the company were indeed
funding this billboard campaign, Fisher said, it would be a violation of
the national settlement and he would take action.

Fisher and Health Secretary Zimmerman also appealed to the Board of
Advisors of the Responsible Tobacco Sale Certification Program to
discourage retail stores from using billboards to advertise tobacco
products. Fisher and Zimmerman serve on the Board of Advisors, which
includes retail store owners, anti-tobacco groups, health organizations
and law enforcement agencies.

Fisher said he will work with the Board of Advisors to develop
guidelines for responsible tobacco advertising, including a prohibition
on tobacco billboards. Fisher thanked the Board of Advisors for its
efforts in urging Wawa to remove its current billboard campaign.

*

Wawa to remove tobacco-touting billboards again

By Glen Justice
INQUIRER HARRISBURG BUREAU

HARRISBURG - Under threat of state action, Wawa Inc. will end a
billboard advertising campaign that was criticized last week by
anti-smoking activists as a violation of the nationwide tobacco
settlement, Pennsylvania officials announced yesterday.

"I informed Wawa and Philip Morris that I was prepared to take
enforcement action over these billboards," Attorney General Mike Fisher
said in a statement. "In response, the company decided to remove the
ads."
 
It is the second time the Delaware County-based chain has ended a
billboard campaign following a request of state officials.

One year ago, 46 states and the nation's top tobacco companies reached a
$206 billion settlement aimed at ending lawsuits brought by the states
to recover health costs attributed to tobacco use.

The settlement not only prohibits cigarette makers from erecting
billboards, it contains language to discourage them from allowing third
parties - such as retailers - to advertise brand-name cigarettes.

On Wawa's latest billboards, which appeared in several Philadelphia
locations, there was no mention of cigarettes. They contained a Wawa
logo, a warning that the stores do not sell tobacco to minors and a
slogan: "Lowest pack prices allowed by law. #1 brand even lower!"

Activists said it is common knowledge that the number-one brand is
Marlboro, made by Philip Morris, and therefore the ads are an end run
around the settlement.

Fisher said he also warned Philip Morris that it would be in violation
of the settlement if it financed the billboards. The company has denied
any involvement beyond the price break advertised on the boards.

Officials from Philip Morris could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Last week, Wawa officials stood behind the campaign, saying that
cigarette makers - not retailers - signed the settlement, that
competitors are producing similar ads, and that the billboards do not
contain tobacco company symbols or logos.

Yesterday, Wawa spokeswoman Lori Bruce said the company would
"discontinue the billboard campaign."

"These billboards again caused confusion," she said.

Activists called for Fisher to make the company remove the billboards
last Monday. A day later, they filed a complaint with the Federal Trade
Commission, noting that the ads did not contain the necessary U.S.
Surgeon General's warning.

Fisher's office, which is charged with enforcing the tobacco settlement,
sent a letter to Wawa last Tuesday saying that the chain "reneged" on
its decision to discontinue ads earlier this year.

Adding to the pressure, state Health Secretary Robert Zimmerman this
week called on organizations, including the Pennsylvania Food Merchants
Association, to discourage billboard ads for cheap cigarettes, saying
they encourage youth smoking. Minors, he said, are sensitive to the
price of tobacco products.

The pressure worked, but activists said the outcome does not prevent
future billboards.

Similar incidents are taking place in other states, they say, and Fisher
should pressure Philip Morris to do more to prevent retailers from
creating such ads.  "Until and unless the attorney general goes after
Philip Morris, this will reoccur," said Pittsburgh activist Bill
Godshall.

Robert Sklaroff, a Philadelphia doctor and activist, agreed.

"They can pull them today and put them up again six months from now," he
said. "They are like a misbehaving child. They test the limits."

In May, a Wawa billboard campaign that touted Marlboros directly caused
Fisher to intervene. Wawa voluntarily took down its ads but put them up
again - without brand-name reference - last week.

Fisher's office said the billboards would come down in Pennsylvania
within eight days.

The billboards were part of a four-week promotion.

*

Pa. legislators: Don't spend all of settlement

By Jim Strader
ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania should hold on to some of its expected $11.3
billion settlement with tobacco companies for health care and other
needs that last beyond the time the state receives annual payments,
Democratic senators said yesterday.

The proposal would set aside 10 percent - $40 million each year - of the
anticipated $400 million annual payments to create a reserve fund that
would be used to extend programs that would be established in the coming
years. Payments are planned to be spread throughout 25 years.

The Democratic senators also suggested using the money to provide health
care for uninsured children and adults, help people stop smoking, fund
cancer research and provide grants to hospitals that treat many Medicaid
and Medicare patients.

"Our goal is to target immediate areas where funding is in greatest
demand while identifying programs that provide for the long-term health
of Pennsylvanians," said State Sen. Michael O'Pake (D., Berks).

Pennsylvania would receive about $11.3 billion of the $206 billion to be
paid nationwide by tobacco companies to settle lawsuits filed by states
to pay for the costs of treating smoking-related illnesses.

Although some states are expected to begin receiving payments this
month, one legal challenge remains to be settled in Pennsylvania. Cancer
specialist Robert Sklaroff of Montgomery County has asked the state
Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's rejection of his challenge.

The Attorney General's Office has asked the Supreme Court to expedite
its decision on whether to hear Sklaroff's case.

Any money received by Pennsylvania would be appropriated by the General
Assembly. Legislators, state agencies and dozens of interest groups have
put forth ideas for using the money, most centered on health care and
smoking cessation. Gov. Ridge's administration and the Attorney
General's Office also have suggested finding ways to make the settlement
funds last beyond the 25-year payment period.

The Ridge administration likely will release its plan in February, a
spokesman said.

*

THOSE WHO RECEIVE THIS E-MAIL WHO KNOW THEY ARE IN A POSITION TO
HELP-OUT (i.e., provide organizational or editorial endorsement) SHOULD
CONSIDER SUCH ACTION *LONG* OVERDUE!  [The "activists" are fatigued.]